The Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport stated today that the regional tourism sector is going through a new stage of development. For the moment, our priority will focus on assuring the uniqueness and consolidation of the Azores Destination.

"We went from a time where there was a need to provide an offer to a time when we need to ensure the existence and maintenance of a highly qualified offer that highlights our differentiating factors. Currently, it is a vital aspect of our Destination and is capable of generating added value," stated Vítor Fraga.
 
The Regional Secretary for Tourism spoke at the opening ceremony of laying the first stone of the Whales Bay Azores Islands undertaking in the village of São Vicente Ferreira, municipality of Ponta Delgada. Financed by regional and external funds, this tourism project with a budget over two million Euros is designed to combine the comfort of a four-star accommodation unit merged in the landscape with leisure activities.

For Vítor Fraga, this type of project is an example of the quality the Region aims to achieve in this area. It also demonstrates the interest "that the sector is raising among entrepreneurs" as well as the path of success followed by the Azores in their growth as a tourist destination.

"We have followed a path towards the enhancement of our most valuable and differentiating features, such as our natural and building heritage or our culture, by safeguarding their preservation and boosting their potentialities in a responsible and sustainable manner. These concerns have been recognised in numerous international awards," stressed the government official.

In his speech, the Regional Secretary reminded that the construction a tourist destination is a lengthy process, which is further aggravated if the goal is to ensure its sustainability.

"The examples we have collected across the world clearly evidence the results of those who choose to grow rapidly: the results turn out to be short-lived and are out of tune with the destination," said Vítor Fraga. The government official assured that "this has never been, nor will be the option taken by the Region for the development of the tourism sector."

The Regional Secretary also stressed that the path followed by the tourism sector, especially in this new stage, requires a continuous and effective cooperation between public and private entities.

"Public authorities should safeguard the preservation of our destination, the determination in the construction of all tools to support and regulate the development of this sector, and ensure its sustainability," stated the Regional Secretary. In turn, private entities should "seize the potentialities of the new tools at their disposal and focus their performance on the qualification and enhancement of the tourism offer."
 
The Regional Secretary also urged businesspeople to incorporate the use of technology in their activities, thereby responding to the new trends of demand, and to invest in the promotion of their differentiating factors as generators of added value.

"Therefore, we will all contribute to the sustainability of a sector that is capable of generating wealth as well as of maintaining and creating more jobs," said Vítor Fraga.