Last Friday, November 11, the Azores Regional Tourism Meeting began. With the main theme “Resilience and Sustainability of the Tourism sector in the Azores” and, given the record numbers recorded last year, the convention addressed a variety of topics in order to promote discussion on sustainable development, as well as recognize the resilience of the sector, given the post-pandemic situation and its obstacles and difficulties.
The event was organized by the Regional Secretariat of Tourism, Mobility and Infrastructures, through the Regional Directorate of Tourism. With the goal of demonstrating the hosting capacity of the less central islands, the meeting was held on the island of Santa Maria, aiming to decentralize visits and reduce seasonality. It was also an important moment to strengthen the spirit of union, as well as to establish several partnerships between companies from different islands and branches.
The opening ceremony, held by the Regional Secretary for Tourism, Mobility and Infrastructures, Berta Cabral and the Mayor of Vila do Porto, Bárbara Chaves, took place at 9:30am on November 11th.
This was followed by the presentation of the theme “Construction of new sustainable tourism models in the face of travel trends”, given by the Keynote Speaker, Miguel Martins.
The panels then began, starting with “Responses to the new demands that have arisen in the tourism sector”. The panel, moderated by Paulo Simões (Editorial Director of Açoriano Oriental), included Pedro Costa Ferreira (President of APAVT), Luís Rodrigues (President of SATA), Ana Jacinto (General Secretary of AHRESP) and Rosa Costa (Regional Director of Tourism).
This panel brought to the Atlântida Cine, in Vila do Porto, a variety of topics of interest as well as promoted the clarification of some questions on relevant issues related to tourism in the Azores.
We highlight a statement made by the Regional Tourism Director, Dr. Rosa Costa, which, for us, Azores Natureza Viva, had a special importance for the timeline shared.
“This year we mark 20 years of a serious bet on tourism in the Azores, by the Regional Government,” said Rosa Costa. This bet coincides with the 20th anniversary of the Azores Natureza Viva tourist guide, demonstrating that both strategies are aligned for a common good, Azorean tourism.
The second panel, moderated by José Toste (Member of the Azores DMO), addressed the topic “Organization and Enhancement of the Destination’s Tourism Offer” and included Céline Fortin (representative of ATTA – Adventure Travel Trade Association), António Marques Vidal (President of APECATE), Marta Cabral (CEO of Rota Vicentina Association) and Isabel Albergia (University of the Azores).
The third panel, moderated by Daniela Alvares (Director of the Tourism course of the University of the Azores), focused on the theme “Qualification of human resources and professional development in the tourism sector. It included José Theotónio (CEO of the Pestana Group), Paula Vaz (Director of the Tourism School of Portugal in Porto) and Nuno Gomes (Regional Director of Professional Qualification and Employment of the Azores).
Then took place the AdventureConnect event, where the theme of Adventure Tourism, its impact, its development and its importance in the growth of tourism in the Azores was addressed and explored extensively.
The fourth panel started the day 12, 2nd day of the event, with the theme: “Digitalization: Are the companies following the trends of tourism demand?”, was moderated by Teresa Tiago (Assistant Professor with Aggregation at the University of the Azores) and included Luís Pedro Cabral (Commercial Director of Altice Açores), Marta Salvador (Innovation Coordinator at NEST) and Pedro Batista (Regional Director of Communications and Digital Transition).
Finally, the fifth panel addressed the theme “Sustainable Finance and innovation of companies in the sector”, moderated by Joana Borges Coutinho (CEO of SustainAzores) and with Álvaro Soares (Administrator of Caixa de Crédito Agrícola), Bruno Belo (Regional Director of Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness), Carlos Abade (Member of the Board of Directors of Turismo de Portugal) and Miguel Martins (MJM Advisors).
To conclude, we want to leave a note regarding the tremendous success of this event. Besides promoting the interaction between all agents – public and private – this event encouraged the creation of new partnerships, fostered the exchange of ideas between the different sectors that support tourism in the Region and cemented the spirit of unity for a common goal, the sustainable growth of tourism in the Azores.
