per:
Leonor Maltez
PT Tourism
In the Azores, the number of overnight stays in local accommodation fell for the second consecutive month.
The tourism sector in the Azores faces increasing challenges, as indicated by the most recent data on overnight stays in Local Accommodation. For the second consecutive month, there was a negative variation, with a drop of 4.4% in January compared to the same period of the previous year.
According to the Azores Regional Statistics Service, islands such as Corvo, Graciosa, Terceira, Santa Maria and São Miguel witnessed a decrease in the number of overnight stays, resulting in a total of 42,314 overnight stays, even with positive numbers on other islands.
This drop is in line with the concerns expressed by the Local Accommodation Association (ALA), which warned of the impacts of the reduction in Ryanair’s air connections in recent months. The recent closure of the Ryanair base at the end of last year has been highlighted as a contributing factor to this negative trend.
Concerns increased with the news that the airline has no scheduled flights to and from the Azores during next winter, which could further accentuate the seasonality of tourism in the region.
Faced with these challenges, the Government of the Azores and VisitAzores significantly increased the promotion of the Archipelago abroad, seeking to attract more tourists to the region and mitigate losses.
The privatization of Azores Airlines and the slowdown in tourism nationwide are also additional sources of concern for the sector, highlighting the urgent need for action to avoid a severe impact on the local economy and employment.
ALA management emphasizes the importance of immediate measures to maintain the stability of the sector and guarantee its vital role in the Azores economy.
