Looking back: Connections Adventure in the Azores
A WORD FROM I
t is certainly a great privilege to relate the name ‘Azores’ to an elite brand such as Connections, and to be part of an exclusive international travel network
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like yours. It is a unique opportunity to show you the best we have to offer; it is also a way to assess our ability to offer our best to those who are used to top travel experiences. Here in the Azores, one of our major goals has been to improve and enrich the quality of our visitors’ experience. We are an archipelago of nine islands - all different and unique - that complement themselves as a nature tourism destination. Exclusive and excellent. It is an authentic paradise on Earth for all those who
love nature. And because of nature and for nature, tourism has come to play an increasingly important role in the Azorean economy. The significant improvement of our tourism offering,
as well as the accessibility, have been key ingredients in the growing success of our performance and for putting the Azores on the map as an excellent destination. Today, we can say that the tourism sector is a key
driver generating wealth for the region with a much stronger identity. But we want its development to be even greater, boosting employment and economic development. Proof of this is the fact that in the last three-four
years, overnight stays in the Azores showed the greatest growth country-wide, and this challenged us [the Azores government and private stakeholders] to position the archipelago as a potential holiday destination in priority markets, thus increasing its reputation. To welcome Connections Adventure in the Azores also
represents an excellent example of promoting the luxury experiences segment as one important way to capture new business in the low and middle seasons.
AN AUTHENTIC PARADISE ON EARTH Visit Azores In recent years, the Azores has established itself as
Europe’s leading nature destination with a strong focus on active tourism with experiences such as hiking, whale watching, diving, canyoning and geotourism amongst others, where the ocean and landscape appears as the idle background. Indeed, our emphasis has been, and continues to be,
to increase international recognition of the Azores as a nature destination of excellency, without jeopardising our resources or the quality of life of our communities. For this reason, the Azores government has committed to start the rigorous certification process for sustainable destination with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and the United Nations’ seal of approval, to be reached this year. Above all, this decision to certify the Azores as a sustainable tourism destination is, a commitment to the future. It is also in this line of thought that we want to take
care of our visitors. We want to offer experiences and emotions; we want to promote exclusivity; and we want our authenticity to be seen to be believed. The Azores is an Atlantic destination with a
biodiversity and landscape diversity that shows an enormous potential to offer unforgettable experiences at sea and on land. I hope you take along with you the memory of these unforgettable moments.
With special thanks to Marta Guerreiro, regional secretary for energy, environment & tourism, and Marlene Damião, regional director of tourism for the Government of the Azores. Picture: Daniele Nabissi
Connections Adventure was hosted in São Miguel 27-30 October 2019 in partnership with Turismo de Portugal and Visit Azores.
weareconnections.com
December 2019 19
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