The Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport stated in Sete Cidades that the situation the tourism sector is currently experiencing in the Azores "generates confidence in our entrepreneurs."
 
Vítor Fraga highlighted the figures released Thursday by the National Statistics Institute, noting that July 2016 was "the best month of July ever, surpassing 200 thousand overnight stays, more specifically 204,179 overnight stays, which represents an increase of 12% over the same month of 2015.
 
The Regional Secretary for Tourism also noted that "we registered over 865 thousand overnight stays in the first seven months, corresponding to an increase over 173,452 overnight stays in 2015, that is, a growth of 25.1%."
 
"This is two and half more than the national average growth," said Vítor Fraga. He added that figures are even more significant "if we look at what has been done in terms of the work developed in the course of this legislative period" since "the growth in the first seven months of 2016 compared to the same period of 2012 stands at 331 thousand overnight stays, i.e., over 62%."
 
The Regional Secretary also highlighted the revenue indicators, adding that "38 million Euros generated by traditional hotel units have entered the regional economy, i.e., over 9.5 million Euros compared to the same period of last year." According to him, this "clearly shows that the current situation of the tourism sector generates confidence."
 
Vítor Fraga spoke during the consignment agreement for the construction of Sete Cidades Camping and Caravan Park and the granting of concession for its operation, following the public tender launched by the Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and the Environment.
 
"It is important to provide campers with duly qualified infrastructures in order to promote a type of tourism concept that is usually less valued by business organisations in the sector," the Secretary for the Environment said, emphasising the recovery of a "degraded" space.
 
For Luís Neto Viveiros, "qualified camping may be a tourism product that provides its users with a more direct contact with nature." In this context, he added that "this decision opens another business opportunity for local entrepreneurs, thus contributing to the creation of more jobs and the improvement of the tourism offer in the village of Sete Cidades."
 
"Similarly to what we have been promoting, the granting of concession for nautical activities and the opening of a restaurant space at the Sete Cidades Crater Lake Environmental Complex are very successful," said the government official.
 
The new draft project for the Camping Park comprises a general intervention. The aim is to improve this infrastructure with the construction of a service building as well as the redefinition of the areas for tents, with a minimum capacity of 70 tents, the remodelling of meal and sanitary areas, and the construction of a parking area for up to six caravans.
 
The concessionaire will be in charge of the operation of the park for a period of 20 years that might be extended up to 30 years. It will also have the possibility of building a maximum of 12 bungalows in the wooded area, six one-bedroom units and six two-bedroom units, thus diversifying the existing offer in this area.