According to a statement from the Regional Government, the two executives "are developing a joint, structured and continuous work, with a view to strengthening air mobility and connectivity in the region, essential to the sustainable development of tourism and the Azorean economy."

The strategic partnership involves Visit Azores (the Azores tourism promotion association), Turismo de Portugal, airlines, ANA - Aeroportos de Portugal and Lajes Civil Airport, "covering key areas such as destination promotion and strengthening air connectivity, with actions outlined for the short, medium and long term."

“This is work that has been ongoing for some time and will continue, in a logic of sustained and evolutionary development of the Azores destination, aware that its structural effects require time to consolidate,” said the Regional Secretary for Tourism, Mobility and Infrastructure, Berta Cabral, at a working meeting dedicated to the tourism sector, held on Tuesday at the Palácio da Conceição, in Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel.

The meeting was attended by the Secretary of State for Tourism, Commerce and Services, Pedro Machado, the president of Turismo de Portugal, Carlos Abade, and the main tourism business associations in the region, “highlighting an unprecedented institutional and operational alignment around the current challenges of the sector,” reads the note from the Regional Government.

At the meeting, it is said, it was guaranteed that the Government of the Azores and the Government of the Republic “will maintain a permanent prospecting effort with airlines, with the aim of guaranteeing more flights, greater connectivity and better mobility conditions to and from the Azores.”

"Within the scope of this cooperation, a specific promotional plan for next winter is already under development, with strong involvement from Turismo de Portugal, whose implementation will be led by Visit Azores, reinforcing the presence of the Azores in the national market," reads the statement.

Berta Cabral, quoted in the note, acknowledged that regional tourism "is going through a particularly demanding phase," resulting from a combination of factors, "including the contraction of the national market and an unfavourable international situation, with global impacts on the tourism sector, influenced by the conflict in the Middle East, the subsequent instability associated with the fuel crisis, and also by international geopolitics."

Ryanair's departure

To this context is added "the departure of Ryanair and the consequent reduction in the supply of seats available for the region, with immediate effects on demand."

Despite the current difficulties, Berta Cabral said that "the course continues," with a "firm commitment to the qualification, enhancement, diversification of the product and the sustainable positioning of the Azores as a destination of excellence."

The regional secretary of tourism also highlighted that the recent election of Nuno Leandro as president of Visit Azores represents "the visible face of a process of revitalising the association."

"All the business associations present had the opportunity to present their main concerns, questions and suggestions, thus contributing not only to the diagnosis of the operational reality, but above all to the projection of future perspectives," indicated the Azorean executive.

At the end of the meeting, "it became clear that regional and national policymakers, as well as economic agents, are aligned and working in an articulated way to overcome the current less favourable phase of tourism, a sector that continues to establish itself as one of the main drivers of the Azorean economy," added the executive.