The Regional Secretariat for Energy, Environment and Tourism, through the Regional Directorate for Tourism, promotes a series of initiatives on all the islands of the Azores as part of the celebrations of World Tourism Day. It will be celebrated today under the theme "sustainable tourism as a tool of development!"
 
The Government will mark the date with several actions in order to provide tourists with a better knowledge about the Azorean reality and the specificities of the Azores, with special emphasis on culture, gastronomy, handicrafts and regional products. The initiatives will be developed through the network of tourism information centres.
 
Visitors will have the opportunity to taste regional cheeses, wines and liqueurs as well as traditional sweets from each Azorean island. They will also be offered flowers and regional handicraft products.
 
In addition to this initiative, held throughout the archipelago, guests of tourism accommodation units will receive regional products.
 
The World Tourism Day represents another opportunity to raise the awareness of the community for the contribution of tourism to the sustainable development of the Azores. It aims to ensure a more efficient use of natural resources, strengthen the economy, and provide new opportunities for employment that will foster an evolution towards a more equitable, responsible and participating society.
 
The United Nations have declared 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, which highlights the contribution of tourism to the pillars of sustainability at an economic, social and environmental level as well as to each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. It evidences the role of tourism as a major factor of growth, stressing its contribution to a better quality of life, environmental conservation and protection of cultural heritage.