The Government of the Azores has been working to mitigate the effects of seasonality on the tourism sector. This effort, jointly undertaken by public and private entities, has yielded results, said the Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport.
 
Vítor Fraga spoke in Horta at the presentation of the 3rd Azores Trail Run, stressing that the Azores have registered an increase of 180 thousand overnight stays from the IATA winter 2012/2013 to same period in 2015/2016, representing an increase of about 95%.
 
The Regional Secretary stressed that the mitigation of seasonality "was a political goal assumed by this Government," but added that "all this is not a finishing line, but rather a starting point."
 
"It is from here that we have to continue working in the perspective of making the sector increasingly sustainable, generating wealth, preserving and creating jobs," Vítor Fraga said, recalling that "tourism is only good if it is good for those who live" in the Azores.
 
"This is why we work every day," the government official said, adding that this "is the task of everyone and requires everyone to take this work with due responsibility for their activity."
 
The Regional Secretary stressed that, throughout this term, the Regional Government has made a strong investment in the qualification of the network of approved hiking trails, which already includes eighty trails on all islands with a total extension exceeding 800 kilometres.
 
This investment involves the development of "Great Routes." According to him, "this novelty has already been introduced in the current legislative period and, after those created on Faial and Santa Maria, the Great Route of Flores and São Jorge will open soon and the Great Route of Graciosa is expected to be ready by late 2016."
 
"All this has contributed to the new dynamics of the tourism sector and to make 2015 the best year ever in tourism," said the government official.
 
The Secretary for Tourism stressed that, in the specific case of Faial and during this legislative period, there has been "an overall growth in all types of accommodation, from Traditional Hotels (HT), Rural Tourism (TER) and Local Accommodation (AL). This clearly shows the impact the sector has in terms of economic development, whether in the Region, in general, or in the specific space of Faial Island, registering a growth of 32% in just three years."
 
In his speech, Vítor Fraga also stressed that, "although the number of overnight stays decreased in HT units on Faial in the first quarter of 2016, this is not the case of revenue. Even though there were less overnight stays in HT, the revenue generated by this type of accommodation increased 5.7%, which means that HT units are boosting higher profitability on their activity. "
 
"If we look at other types of accommodation, such as TER, the number of overnight stays in the same period of time grew 52% and the revenue generated followed the same trend," said the government official. He also added that "despite a decrease of 8.9% in HT accommodation on Pico Island, revenue grew 14.1%, while the number of overnight stays in TER accommodation increased 128% and revenue grew 252%."
 
"With this, I say that, when we look at statistics, we should look at them in a way that allows us to learn something and understand what is happening," said the Regional Secretary. In this specific case, "and particularly with regard to HT accommodation, it is important to understand the relation between the increase in revenue and the decrease in overnight stays and why there are other types of accommodation that registered such a significant growth in this context."
 
Vítor Fraga mentioned another indicator that should be taken into account, reminding that the year 2015 was marked by the implementation of new model of accessibility and the revision of inter-island Public Service Obligations as well as by a significant growth in the number of passengers.
 
In this context, he pointed out the examples of São Jorge Island where this figure grew 16.6% only in the first four months of this year, Pico Island where the number of disembarking passengers grew 16%, Flores Island where it grew 7.8%, Corvo Island where it grew 18.4% and Horta where the figure grew 21.4%; the latter registered an increase of 4,178 passengers disembarking on the "Blue Island."
 
However, the Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport reminded that the work developed does not stop here, since "there will be an increase in the number of seats in the accessibility to Mainland Portugal during the months of July and August; the public offer published today provides more than 2,800 seats. Under the revision of the new Public Service Obligations for inter-island transport, the flight connections to the Faial increased 35,897 seats."
 
"This is just a demonstration that we continue to work and remain committed so that all islands can grow in an equal and sustained manner in which the tourism sector generates wealth and is actually good for those who live here," said the government official.
 
With regard the 3rd Azores Trail Run, presented today, the Regional Secretary pointed out that, at the presentation of the first edition, "few believed in the evolution of this event in the Region."
 
The Government of the Azores has "decided that the events to be supported in this legislative period should have two fundamental characteristics: to ensure the promotion of the Region with the main tourism markets and to contribute to the direct increase of tourism flows."
 
"The Azores Trail Run has the specificity of covering both aspects simultaneously," the government official said, adding that the event "is a promotional vehicle with the main markets, seizing the opportunities of new communication channels, including social networks." On the other hand, "it is also directed to the increase of tourism flows."
 
"In 2014, we had 14 nationalities and 211 participants and in 2015 we had the same 14 nationalities but more than 500 participants. This year, we grew to 29 nationalities and more than 750 participants," said Vítor Fraga. According to him, the "Azores Trail Run has stood out for its quality and the efforts of its entire organisation team in its promotion, either in a national context or in an international context."
 
Vítor Fraga also thanked the team that created the Azores Trail Run for the contribution it has provided to the promotion and qualification of the Azores Destination as well as for the work carried out in the organisation of the Triangle Adventure, held in November, and the Columbus Trail Run, which takes place in Santa Maria. This team has "provided a decisive contribution to the consolidation of this type of activity and the promotion of our main products, which is the network of hiking trails."