The Azores should pay close attention to what is happening in other tourist destinations. From Europe to Asia, protests are multiplying as local populations no longer experience tourism as a net benefit. The issue is not those who come to visit us. The issue is a model of growth that, in too many places, has come to sacrifice residents’ quality of life in pursuit of ever more ambitious economic indicators.
The reasons are well known. Housing has become more expensive and less accessible. Public services and infrastructure have been forced to bear pressures for which they were never designed. Traditional commerce has given way to businesses geared primarily toward visitors. Mobility has deteriorated, natural resources have come under increasing strain, and places that once thrived on their authenticity have, paradoxically, begun to lose it. Meanwhile, economies that become excessively dependent on tourism grow more vulnerable to any international crisis.
The Azores have not yet reached that point. That is precisely why now is the right time to reflect. The archipelago still enjoys a level of tourism that remains broadly compatible with its capacity to receive visitors. Yet it would be a mistake to ignore the warning signs that are beginning to emerge: a greater concentration of visitors in certain locations and at particular times of the year; mounting pressure on hiking trails, crater lakes, and coastal areas; increasing traffic congestion at some tourist sites; rising demand for housing on certain islands; and the steadily growing weight of tourism within the regional economy.
An idea is steadily gaining ground in the world’s more experienced tourist destinations: the success of tourism cannot be measured solely by the number of visitors, overnight stays, or revenue generated. Above all, it must be measured by the extent to which it improves—or diminishes—the lives of those who call these places home. When local communities no longer feel that they benefit from the industry, something is lost that no strategic plan can ever restore: tourism’s social legitimacy.
The Azores possess an advantage that many other destinations have already forfeited: they still have the freedom to choose. They can embrace a model of growth that values quality over quantity, distributes the benefits more evenly across the nine islands, encourages longer visitor stays, safeguards both the natural and cultural heritage, and places residents at the heart of decision-making. This is not about restraining tourism. It is about ensuring that tourism continues to serve the Azores, rather than the Azores existing merely to serve tourism. There is still time to choose a different path.
An editorial from Diário Insular, José Lourenço – director