Pico tourism products provide "decisive" contribution to the promotion of the Azores destination, says Vítor Fraga
The Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport stated in São Roque do Pico that local tourism products "provide a decisive contribution to the improvement and recognition of the Azores destination."
Vítor Fraga pointed out that Rural Tourism and Local Accommodation on Pico Island represent about two-thirds of the overall supply of accommodation, while they represent a third in the Region in general. This contributes to the "diversification of supply and to the promotion of Pico as a tourist destination, with a clear identification of accommodation with the main tourism products of that island."
"What is an asset to Pico, it is an asset for the Region, because Pico Island is part of the Region's tourism offer," said Vítor Fraga. The government official spoke Saturday on the sidelines of a forum "Tourism: Future Challenges," held under the 2nd "Feeling Pico" Festival.
For Vítor Fraga, this is a positive asset, as it "allows the diversification and improvement of the tourism offer, while highlighting the positive aspects that Pico has to offer in the overall context of the tourism products of the Azores destination: nature tourism.
"Given the significant weight of Rural Tourism, this also means that there is also a greater distribution of wealth by more entities, contributing to a more dynamic economy, not only for accommodation but also for local economies where these projects are implemented," added the government official.
Vítor Fraga also noted that the increase in the number of passengers disembarking on Pico is the "reflection" of the new model of accessibility to the Region. It "enhanced the offer to this island, which is responding very well, according to expectations." The government official also mentioned "the increase in inter-island transport and the growing dynamics on all island. This is quite visible in the indicator of passengers disembarking in the archipelago, whether as a result of the new Public Service Obligations for inter-island air transport or the introduction of the new accessibility model; the latter has provided a very important contribution for the tourism sector, with the figures that everyone knows."
The Regional Secretary also stressed the fundamental importance of the vineyard, which is identified in the Strategic Marketing Plan of the Azores Tourism as one of the main attractions of Pico Island.
"There is now an effort that has yet to be developed by entrepreneurs, who must seize the potential of this situation to add value to Pico's tourism offer so that it may increasingly become as a differentiated tourism product in the context of Pico's tourism offer as well as in the context of the regional tourism offer. It should be clearly associated to what is now an indisputable fact: the quality of Pico wines; they are widely recognised at national and international level," said Vítor Fraga.