At the Atlantic Tourism Conference, Velas looks toward artificial intelligence and new forms of cooperation while insisting on a fundamental principle: tourism can only be considered successful if it improves life for those who remain on the island throughout the year.
For an island such as São Jorge, the future of tourism cannot simply be measured by how many people arrive. The more difficult measure is what remains after they leave: stronger businesses, better employment, preserved landscapes, valued local products and a community that continues to recognize the island as its own. That balance—between opening São Jorge to the world and protecting what makes it distinctive—stands at the center of the reflections emerging from the Atlantic Tourism Conference.
Artificial intelligence is now part of that conversation. For Velas, its potential lies particularly in improving destination promotion, providing visitors with better information and creating more personalized experiences. But technology is viewed as an instrument rather than a destination in itself. The challenge is to use emerging tools without allowing technological efficiency to erase what cannot be automated: authenticity, human proximity and São Jorge’s profound relationship with nature.
That concern becomes especially important as tourism grows. São Jorge possesses landscapes and natural resources whose value depends precisely upon their preservation. Increased pressure on hiking trails and sensitive natural areas, together with waste management and demands on existing infrastructure, can transform growth into vulnerability if it exceeds the island’s capacity. The proposed model is therefore one in which economic opportunity advances alongside protection of natural and cultural heritage, rather than at its expense.
So far, the assessment of tourism’s contribution to local life is broadly positive. The sector has encouraged investment, supported new businesses and created employment extending beyond traditional tourism activities. But more remains to be done, particularly in workforce training, air and maritime accessibility and the promotion of local products—including São Jorge’s emblematic cheese. The underlying principle is simple and significant: “Tourism is only truly sustainable if it improves the quality of life of those who live on the island throughout the year.”
The conference also reflects a relationship extending beyond tourism itself. Velas, Porto Santo and Sal have maintained sister-city ties for more than three decades, bringing together three island territories separated by considerable distances but connected by many of the same questions: mobility, economic scale, environmental fragility and the difficulty of reconciling development with identity. The Atlantic Tourism Conference has become one practical expression of that relationship, creating a space where different island experiences can be compared rather than confronted in isolation.
After four editions, the gathering has placed sustainability, technological innovation and the role of local communities firmly within the discussion about tourism’s future. Its usefulness, however, will ultimately be measured beyond conference rooms—by whether conversations generate partnerships, and whether partnerships become solutions adapted to the particular realities of island territories.
For São Jorge, that distinction matters. Artificial intelligence may help a visitor discover a trail, understand a landscape or choose where to stay. Innovation may make the destination more visible and efficient. But no algorithm can manufacture the qualities that make the island worth visiting in the first place.
The future of tourism may therefore depend upon knowing when to embrace what is new—and when to protect, with equal determination, what should never be replaced.
Based on a story in Diário Insular-José Lourenço, director. The photos are also from DI.