Ryanair’s reduction in supply means that the Azores Local Accommodation Association’s (ALA) outlook for the beginning of 2024 is not encouraging.
The closure of the Ryanair base in Ponta Delgada “culminates in a reversal of the positive trajectory of the year (2023), with a very significant reduction in the supply of available places”, says a statement sent to DI.
“We will have a very difficult winter, with a reduction in Ryanair’s offer, and the main impact will be felt in the first quarter, with a reduction of up to 30%,” the statement reads.
This is a factor that, according to the ALA, makes it difficult “to mitigate seasonality, which is evident in the PEMTA, approved this year.”

2023 BALANCE SHEET
The year 2023 was initially marked by the ‘Mais Habitação’ program, which provided for implementing an Extraordinary Contribution to Local Accommodation (CEAL) applicable to Local Accommodation throughout the country.
Considered an injustice by the association, work began “with the parliamentary groups and representations of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores (ALRAA), to make the deputies aware of the need to change or eliminate this injustice”.
To this end, “the Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Party presented an amendment that makes it the responsibility of the ALRAA to decide on the application or exemption of CEAL for the LA of the Azores,” the statement reads.
The first Meeting of Local Accommodation in the Azores took place in São Jorge.
It was an event “of great importance for reflection on our sector of activity and on tourism in the Azores.”
In 2023, LA (local rentals of rooms and homes) surpassed the one million overnight stays mark in less time than in 2022.
Including the ‘Small Business’ subsystem of the ‘Build 2030’ incentive system was “another victory” considered by the ALA.
The negative aspect pointed out was the closure of the Ryanair base in Ponta Delgada.

OUTLOOK FOR 2024
On January 19 and 20, the Azores Local Accommodation Association is holding its second meeting at the Angra do Heroísmo Cultural and Congress Center (CCAH).
“Over the course of two days, twenty speakers will pass through the CCCAH to address various topics related to the activity of LA, in particular, and the tourism sector, in general,” says a statement sent to DI.


The second meeting “includes two workshops, a musical moment and a convivial dinner, moments of socialization and contact between LA owners in the region.”
According to the statement, these meetings between owners and people linked to the Local Accommodation sector are considered the highlight of the ALA’s activity.
Introducing the Tourist Tax in the Azores is an issue that, for the ALA, will be a concern for 2024.
In addition, the association is committed to continuing to demand the promotion of a better distribution of the flow of passengers disembarking in the Azores.

in Diário Insular–José Lourenço, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance)  at California State University, Fresno–PBBI thanks the sponsorship of the Luso-American Development Foundation from Lisbon, Portugal (FLAD)