The Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport stated in Horta that the Azores are currently developing what is "undoubtedly the most comprehensive work ever to be made in the Tourism sector" in the archipelago.

Vítor Fraga spoke Wednesday night at the first Tourism Meeting. The event included the presentation of the first data collected from the surveys conducted on the Azorean population by the Institute for Tourism Planning and Development (IPDT). The data will be used in the preparation work for the Strategic and Marketing of Azores Tourism with the Horizon 2020.

In this first open session to the public, Vítor Fraga emphasised that the Regional Government "regards the Strategic and Marketing Plan of Azores Tourism with the Horizon 2020 as a key document that comprehends the entire society."

"Basically, our aim is that the guidelines of the Azores Tourism strategy include entire population and that all may contribute to their definition," said the government official.

Hence, it was decided that the development of this strategic plan should have "the broad participation of the whole society, starting from the Azorean population to opinion leaders, public entities, private entities, tourists, potential tourists, i.e., holidaymakers who have not visited the Azores yet, national and international travel agents operating in the Azores destination as well as national and international travel agents that do not operate in the Azores Destination and major world tour operators," stressed the Regional Secretary.

Vítor Fraga stressed that this is "an effort that calls for the participation of all citizens, an effort that leaves no one behind. Today, this is the first assessment of a work in progress."

According to him, the assessment of this work "will be presented on all islands where, simultaneously, all citizens will called again to provide their contribution to the implementation of the plan.

The preparation of the Strategic Plan comprehends a diagnostic phase, during which several studies will be conducted. It also includes the work already carried out with the Azorean population, whose results were presented by the members of IPDT.

Vítor Fraga revealed that this work "will lead to the creation of an action programme, starting with the Marketing Plan for the Azores Tourism with the revision of the Tourism Management Plan of the Autonomous Region of the Azores (POTRAA) and the development of a management programme for the implementation of the strategic plan."

Each indicator will be evaluated on a periodic basis "and shared with all parties involved so that we can identify new dynamics, such as the profile of tourists visiting the Azores or the perception of residents about the development of the sector," said the Regional Secretary.
 
Vítor Fraga also revealed that the Government will later present "a system for the development of tourism that we all should know in order to take active part in it, whether we have a direct contact with tourists or an indirect contact."

"Therefore, welcoming tourists is synonymous with wealth generation and job creation. We should plan our actions, bearing in mind this perspective, as we believe that tourism in the Azores will only be good if it is, indeed, good for those who live in the archipelago. It is up to each one of us to turn the tourism sector into a critical sector that will help us to live better in our Region," said the Regional Secretary.