Azores Tourism Looks Ahead

Saturday, 23 January 2010 00:00

The Azores is holding its own according to its tourism director, Miguel Cymbron. With better transport links in place, Cymbron is focused on generating more awareness of one of the most stunningly beautiful natural parts of the world, spread across 300 miles between Portugal and the U.S. Each island is a standalone destination with a range of geographical and cultural features. The local waters are Europe's number one spot for whale-watching. The region's scuba diving centers are modern and well organized with prices reasonable compared with many other destinations, and some even offer the chance to dive at night. Golfers can currently choose from three courses affording views from the greens and fairways, with another two in the pipeline. Geocaching (a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices) is fast becoming a popular eco-friendly tourist activity in the Azores and is soon to be extended across all nine islands, with the idea being to locate hidden containers called geocaches and share the experience online. The region’s first-ever five-star hotel, the Príncipe do Mónaco (with casino attached), is soon to open in a prime location overlooking the marina in Ponta Delgada. Meanwhile, several newly-built four-star hotels have recently opened on the islands of Graciosa (the Graciosa Resort & Business Hotel), São Miguel (the Furnas Spa Hotel), Pico (the Baía da Barca Aparthotel) and Flores (the Hotel das Flores), with more at various stages of development. The islands are responding with a traditional kind of hospitality being served up at places like Aldeia da Cuada, a typically Azorean village comprising 13 restored houses. The island region came second in National Geographic Traveler magazine's study of the world's most sustainable tourism destinations, while Flores, the most westerly of the nine islands, was recently declared a UNESCO biosphere reserve, one of 533 in 107 countries. Pico, for its part, glowed with pride when Florida-based Islands magazine described it in a recently article as 'one of the best places in the world to live'.