Azorean businessman Romão Braz said yesterday that tourism “is really something extraordinary in the economy of the Azores, also in the country, but in the Azores in particular.”
As part of the ‘Tourism Strategy 2035’, the businessman said that the sector “has to be guided and properly valued.”
He highlighted the need to “reinforce the positive impact” of tourism on people and communities.
In his opinion, it will become increasingly important “the impact that citizens feel or don’t feel” and whether the tourism sector “is truly positive for them. This is something that concerns me a lot, not only as a businessman linked to tourism, but also to other areas of activity,” he said.
He stressed the sector’s importance for the economy and employment, “but we also have many citizens who complain about the impact tourism has on the cost of housing and restaurants. We mustn’t forget that, in recent years, we’ve lived through a period of heightened inflation, which leads me to make a small connection here: it’s one thing to talk about wage growth, but it’s quite another to talk about available rent and people’s purchasing power.”
In Romão Braz’s opinion, municipalities “have to take a more proactive stance on the issue of infrastructures to support tourism and locals. He gave two examples: “bathing areas, viewpoints (…). We must improve parking and accessibility to allow more tourists to travel to more parts of the island, not just São Miguel, but also the other islands.”
He also highlighted that Terceira is “an example of bathing areas that are even better than those on São Miguel.”


“In favor of the tourist tax.”
During the debate, businessman Romão Braz expressed his support for the tourist tax. “I’m in favor of it because I understand that the economy and businesses only make sense if people improve their lives. So there can’t be a feeling that only a few are benefiting from economic activity, so it has to be transversal to our community,” he argued.
He made a “small point: we are experiencing excellent times, some euphoria even, regarding tourism figures. But not so long ago, having a hotel or other business was a pain because it was so difficult. But we have to be satisfied with what we have, but it’s not all gain, and it’s not all guaranteed,” he said.
In his opinion, the tourist tax “should be used to improve the infrastructure and the locals have to feel that improvement. And I’d even like it to be possible for the private sector to participate in some way, reconciling the best possible use of these funds, given our experience and our capacity to invest. And I wouldn’t be shocked if the tourist tax in the summer was even higher than in the winter months, I wouldn’t be shocked at all,” he said.
“It’s essential that we take value and invest and give it back to our community,” he stressed.

Romão Braz was asked if defending the tourist tax was an “act of courage,” and the businessman immediately made it clear that “I’m speaking here, not on behalf of anyone; I’m speaking for myself and the group I represent and lead.”
“We have to give value back to communities, people have to feel value,” he stressed. “Otherwise,” he continued, ”they’ll turn against what is a great asset – tourism.”
“If it’s not a tourist tax, let it be some other way, but let it be money that goes directly into infrastructure and improving people’s lives,” he argued.
His speech challenged the “myth that tourism doesn’t pay well. This is not true. There have been salary increases, and it will continue because there aren’t enough people.”
“I’m in favor of taxes, but I also love the market. And the market makes sure that we have to pay workers better in order to attract them, qualify them and have the best possible offer. This is happening naturally,” said Romão Braz.
In his speech, he spoke about what is always, in his opinion, considered “a controversial point, which is our airline, which is essential in the distribution of inter-island flows. I believe that SATA Air Açores should have many more planes than it does; we should concentrate on entering the Azores. And we should have air bridge connections to several islands.”
Romão Braz also addressed the issue of promoting tourism, which “has been a little scattered in recent years. We’re living through good years of past work and must concentrate on a holistic promotion of the Azores. Several entities are promoting, and I don’t think that’s the best way either.”
Romão Braz believes that “we don’t have too many tourists and the statistics show that. In the summer you can already feel that there are too many people. This has to do with the fact that the locals are also on vacation, that we have more guests and that we lack infrastructure so that we don’t have the feeling that everything is too full,” he said.
He highlighted another issue that he considered “important”: São Miguel is clearly in a different league than the rest of the islands regarding profitability. We can’t crow about this success. In reality, the figures are very satisfactory, and that’s good because we need companies to make a profit to invest. Still, the fact is different in terms of size and other islands. The scenario on the other islands is that seasonality is much more pronounced.”

Jorge Aguiar: The Azores are not just fashionable…”
Jorge Aguiar, executive director of Bensaúde Turismo, pointed out that “before the fears and anxieties, in Portugal, and within Portugal, the Azores ‘have made extraordinary progress’ in tourism.
In Jorge Aguiar’s opinion, “we are being very poorly paid for the experiences we offer our visitors. As far as hotels are concerned, Portugal has hotels of extraordinary quality, and the ones that appear every day are on a par with the best in the world. The Azores also have a good hotel offer and we are being underpaid. This correction in tariffs, through an absolutely extraordinary recovery compared to the time of the Troika, has brought this ability to redistribute more wealth to all parties, including the most sensitive people and what concerns us most, which are the people who work with us. ”
As the head of Bensaúde Turismo said, the Azores should represent 3.5% of the country’s tourism revenue. ” It’s very small, but the Azores have a much more immeasurable value than that. They are the jewel in the crown of national tourism. It’s an absolutely unique region in terms of diversity, history, and culture. In other words, the Azores add value to our country and are also an asset.”
He revealed that the business group has 1,000 employees in the tourism sector in a few days – some in Lisbon, but most here. We have a great responsibility in this regard. In our case, it would be much easier to continue growing in the Azores, making 150-room and 200-room hotels, with incentives and everything.”


“… The world is not like the Azores or Portugal. It won’t be until 2024 that the number of international passengers disembarking will hit a ceiling. We’ll recover much more quickly. This has to do with the attributes we have here in the Azores, which have allowed us to reorganize. This has been very important. We are not just fashionable, we are trendy and there are reasons for this. And it has to do with the unique attributes that the Azores have, which are aligned with a lack of global demand,” he said.
“Our recovery has come about very quickly, but it has put pressure on some parts of the chain of enhancing tourism in the Azores. Restaurants are one of them, as is tourist entertainment,” he said
“We have hotels where most of the guests are North Americans, Canada and the United States. But from far away. Traditionally they were Germans, who are now recovering. And they travel differently from Americans to the Azores. The American is very direct, the German travels more on planned trips,” he said.


Frederico Figueiredo is a journalist for Correio dos Açores-Natalino Viveiros, director.

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.