The history, identity and strategy of the Azores as a tourist destination are based on sustainability. Our future lies in strengthening this international prestige, which is constantly being confirmed.

Currently, we are an international benchmark, a success story and a case study in the country, in the European Union and in the world when it comes to sustainability.

We have the option of continuing to aspire to even higher heights, in the words of the poet, “we have in (us) all the dreams of the world”. And in order to dream higher, we must always reconcile tourism activities with the preservation of our environment, the protection of our natural and cultural resources and the social and economic development of our islands.

It is our obligation to minimise the negative impacts and maximise the positive benefits of tourism, both in the short and long term.

Beauty and vulnerability coexist on our islands. They are the mark of our wealth, but at the same time, of our environmental vulnerability. What's more, the development of tourism must be a fundamental reason for the harmonious development of each of them.

Entrusted with the innovative capacity of Azoreans and foreign investors, the development of sustainable tourism has, in the Government of the Azores, an ally and, at the same time, a vigilant supervisor, so that, in our attention to public policies, where we have too much tourism, we control it, and where we have too little tourism, we encourage it.

We therefore impose strategic territorial cohesion.

The active engagement of local communities, business owners and local authorities in tourism planning, decision-making and management is essential to guarantee the sustainability of tourism in the Azores.

Economic development is only such if it does not interfere with the environmental and social sustainability of tourism in the Azores.