Following the approval of the new Strategic and Marketing Plan for Tourism in the Azores (PEMTA 2030), the consolidation of the Region's tourism promotion model, and the high growth rates of tourism indicators, the Regional Government believes that this is the right time to develop a process for reviewing the tourism planning instrument for the Autonomous Region of the Azores, with the aim of planning and managing aspects of the tourism sector that have a territorial impact, contributing to the sustainability of this sector and, whenever possible, taking an integrated and regenerative approach to tourism.

Thus, under the terms of Government Council Resolution No. 141/2024, of September 23It was decided to revise the Tourism Development Plan for the Autonomous Region of the Azores (POTRAA), approved by Regional Legislative Decree No. 38/2008/A of August 11, renaming it, after its revision, the Territorial Development Plan for Tourism in the Azores (PDTA), as an instrument for the territorial management of tourism in the Azores, based on the natural, cultural, and landscape characteristics that define the Azores, and incorporating current issues that should be considered in territorial planning and action strategies, which are not included in the current plan, such as, among others, the sustainability of tourism development, the identification and development of new tourism resources, considering the definition of their carrying capacity, flow management, climate action in terms of mitigation and adaptation, the circular economy, risk and crisis management, and continuous assessment and monitoring.

The objectives to be achieved with the revision of the POTRAA/PDTA are as follows:

• • Contribute to the sustainable development of the Azores;
  • Define the territorial tourism management model, considering resources, products, accommodation, services, and tourism infrastructure, as well as carrying capacity, based on territorial, environmental, social, and cultural constraints;
  • Strengthen the positioning of the Azores Tourism brand as an instrument of economic development and social cohesion;
  • Safeguarding and enhancing natural, cultural, and landscape heritage;
  • Improve the quality of regional tourism offerings in all their various dimensions;
  • Distribute tourist flows and mitigate seasonality, in terms of territory and time.

The coordination of the procedures necessary for the revision of the POTRAA is the responsibility of the Regional Secretariat for Tourism, Mobility, and Infrastructure, through the Regional Directorate for Tourism and the Working Group set up to monitor the progress of the work, appointed by the Order nº 1013/2024, of 23rd May.

The review of the POTRAA/PDTA is monitored by an advisory committee, whose members are appointed as set out in Order No. 1422/2025, of June 27.