The Regional Secretary for Energy, Environment and Tourism stated in Praia da Vitória that this year will be marked by the beginning of the Cultural and Landscape Touring Routes, pointing out the Whaling and Wine routes. In a second phase, the Government will implement the Holy Spirit, Volcanoes and UNESCO Heritage routes.
 
"These are Cultural and Landscape Touring Routes intended to become structured commercial products that will be promoted by public-private entities and marketed by private sector agents," said Marta Guerreiro. The government official spoke at the opening of the 5th Reflection Seminar on Tourism Entertainment, which will focus on the theme "Cultural Tourism."
 
The Regional Secretary pointed out the island of Terceira for its ability to attract the cultural tourism segment due to its "unparalleled wealth and a significant cultural component." This is evidenced in the Strategic and Marketing Plan of Azores Tourism insofar as it defines several primary products in terms of Cultural and Landscape Touring on this island.
 
Marta Guerreiro assured that the tourism strategy of the Azores will continue to be supported by entities promoting this destination through cultural initiatives. In this regard, she noted that the Azorean Government supported about 50 initiatives developed across the archipelago in 2017.
 
"The growth of the sector, which involves the so-called environmental preservation, will surely regard the cultural component as another important pillar," said the government official. According to her, "a tourism offer based on the active use of natural spaces cannot be limited to the beauty of the landscape, nor to its mere observation."
 
As for the growth of the tourism sector, Marta Guerreiro pointed out that the island of Terceira "has also registered a significant growth. In fact, the seasonality rate in traditional hotel accommodation was the second lowest in the Region, even below the overall seasonality rate registered by Portugal."
 
"It is clear that the strategy to support the promotion of flights from the USA and Spain has been a very positive strategy for the profitability of tourism, the balance of occupancy rates on the island throughout the year and, consequently, for the mitigation of seasonality," stressed the Secretary for Tourism.