The Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport stressed last night in Toronto the role of the emigrant community in Canada in promoting the Azores as a tourist destination.
 
Vítor Fraga revealed that "the Canadian market grew from 19,400 overnight stays in 2012 to 41.891 overnight stays in 2015, i.e., there was an increase of 22,493 overnight stays," which represents a growth of 116%.
 
"This clearly shows the result of all the work and all the effort to promote and increase links with the Canadian market, from the perspective of developing a true tourism market for our Region," stressed the Regional Secretary. However, he added that "these figures may be better and, for that reason, we rely on all of you," as "true ambassadors of the Azores Destination".
 
Addressing to all the emigrants at the House of the Azores of Ontario, where SATA presented the new image of the Azores Airlines, Vítor Fraga pointed out that "no one is better prepared than you to show the differentiating aspects of each our islands, which are critical to the improvement of the Azores as a tourist destination.”
 
The Regional Secretary recalled that the year 2015 has been, so far, the best year ever in the regional tourism sector, stressing that "it is a strategic sector for our development and, for the first time, we exceeded the barrier of one million and half overnight stays."
 
"This growth has been the result of work we have been carrying out over the years," Vítor Fraga said, adding that "the overall number of overnight stays increased 40% compared to 2012. According to him, "we have grown 40%, that is, more than 433 thousand overnight stays," taking into consideration the different types of tourist accommodation.
 
For the Regional Secretary, "these results do not happen by chance: that are rather the culmination of all the work carried out between public and private entities."
 
"When this Government, led by Vasco Cordeiro, took office in late 2012, we clearly defined the United States and Canada as priority markets within our main tourism markets. We have changed the strategy that had been in force until then," said the government official. According to him, this definition was made "being aware of the fundamental importance that our emigrant community would have in the achievement of success. This adds up to the improvement of connectivity and the change in the communication policy in terms of promoting the destination and a direct communication with potential tourists."
 
"There is no one better than you to help disseminating our archipelago. I know you have been doing it and I know you will continue to do so, because your love for our land is quite remarkable and I know you are aware of the importance of the role you play in the promotion of our Region," concluded Vítor Fraga.