The President of the Casas Açorianas Rural Tourism Association, Gilberto Vieira, told Correio dos Açores that “the year can be considered a good one, and if the tourist year is positive for the Azores, it is certain that it is also a good year for the accommodation units that are part of Casas Açorianas – Rural Tourism Association.” However, he also warns that this does not mean that tourism in the Azores is on the right track, because “tourism is like a plant that, in order to thrive, must be cared for every day.”

It is November and the year is coming to an end. What assessment can already be made of tourism, both in terms of the Azores and in relation to Casas Açorianas?

“Tourism to the Azores, overall, grew between January and September by 5.4% in overnight stays compared to the same period in 2024, reaching a cumulative total of 3.8 million, and in terms of guests, we reached 1.1 million, which is 4.5% higher than the same period last year.

These are official figures provided by the Azores Regional Statistics Service, but the figures for the last quarter are still missing and will only be known after the end of the year. However, judging by previous years, there should be no major changes, not least because these months are also those in which seasonality is most felt in our region, with fewer tourists and, consequently, fewer overnight stays.

I cannot, however, hide the fact that we are concerned about the domestic market, which has been experiencing declines for six months now, with overnight stays in this market, which is so important for the region, down on last year.

Even so, taking into account the SREA figures I mentioned, the year can be considered a good one, and if the tourist year is positive for the Azores, it is certain that it is also a good year for the accommodation units that are part of Casas Açorianas – Associação de Turismo em Espaço Rural (Association of Rural Tourism). Therefore, we can say with some certainty that 2025, although the final figures are not yet available, was a good year – a year in which we saw growth in the number of guests and the number of overnight stays in our accommodation units, as well as a slight increase in the average price per occupied room.

I would like to point out, and I do so with great pleasure, that in some months of the year, the type of accommodation represented by Casas Açorianas was the one that grew the most in percentage terms, as a result of all the promotional work we have been doing and, of course, the quality of the offer that our members present in their units.”

From your answer, can we conclude that tourism in the Azores is on the right track?

“Not exactly, because tourism is like a plant that, to thrive, must be cared for every day. The same thing happens with the economic area of tourism. We have to care for it, nurture it, and develop it every day because the competition is fierce. All countries and regions have begun to view tourism as an important source of revenue for their economies and for job creation.

We in the Azores do not yet see this sector as a real driver of development for the archipelago. It is therefore imperative that we all look at tourism as a work in progress that will never be finished, and so we must take care of it every day to ensure that it continues to progress and grow.

Despite the growth, we still face problems and often make unnecessary mistakes. I can give you some examples of the biggest constraints facing tourism in the region. We have some peaks in demand in the summer, but we suffer from high seasonality, which is linked to the promotion of the Azores as a destination. We have a serious problem with accessibility, both to the archipelago and between the islands, a situation that has been identified for years and remains unsolved. We have a shortage of qualified workers across almost all subsectors of tourism,especially in the hotel industry. In addition, the support and incentives for entrepreneurs in the sector are not always appropriate or sufficient, and so on…

That is why I say that we cannot say that tourism in the Azores is on the right track. The growth we have seen year after year could, from one day to the next, come to a halt because we are not taking care of it, because we have identified the problems and constraints, but we have not yet solved them.

Let’s take it step by step. The Azores are growing in terms of tourist numbers, but even so, do you think that the promotion being done is not the right one, or is it insufficient?

“I would say both. As I mentioned before, the seasonality of tourism that Azorean entrepreneurs in the tourism sector struggle with is a serious problem, a situation that leads to imbalances in the management and profitability of the units, compromising the retention of qualified professionals due to a lack of work throughout the year.

That is why I think Visit Azores should listen to entrepreneurs to find out their real needs and, from there, create several specific programs, which could even be financially supported, targeting certain source markets that can more easily send tourists during these periods of lower occupancy.

I can even suggest an idea: given the decline in the domestic market that we have been seeing, which I have already mentioned, why not launch a campaign during these periods of low occupancy in the domestic market, aimed, for example, at senior tourism, and involving all market players (accommodation, travel agencies, and airlines), to create packages of 3 or 4 nights, or even a week? This initiative would certainly require some promotional investment on the part of Visit Azores, and perhaps even some financial support. A campaign of this type could also be set up for the domestic market in the Azores, so that our fellow citizens could visit the islands where many have never been.

One of my criticisms is that the promotion of a tourist destination should be planned and organized in the medium term, rather than on a case-by-case basis, so that the money invested can be used to achieve the greatest possible benefits, both in terms of the number of tourists and, above all, in terms of the revenue generated for our archipelago.

We at Casas Açorianas are well aware that the funds available for investment are not infinite, quite the contrary, and that is why, when it comes to promoting tourism, every cent spent must have a return that is measured not only by the number but, above all, by the quality of the tourists who visit us.

Marco Sousa is a journalist for Correio dos Açores-Natalino Viveiros-director.

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