“The Regional Government of the Azores, in partnership with the Azores Tourism Association, is preparing the launch of tourist promotion contests that aim to guarantee tourist flows to the Azores from the tourist markets of the United States of America and Canada”, reads a press release.

According to the Regional Government, the planned actions are all ready for the winter 2021-22 for Terceira island, which “historically has shown a great attractiveness for tourists coming from these markets, either for its component of cultural and gastronomic offer”, as well as “for the diverse activities of tourist entertainment outdoors and at sea” and for the mild climate at that time of the year.

The markets of the United States of America and Canada “are strategic for the Azores destination” and, in recent years, “with the exception of the pandemic period” of Covid-19, they had “a very positive and relevant impact”.

If the Covid-19 pandemic had not occurred on Terceira Island, for example, “in 2020, there was an estimated demand from North America of about 63,000 overnight stays, of which 36,000 were from the United States [Boston] and 27,000 from Canada [Toronto]” , says the Azorean executive in the note.

Also according to the executive, in 2019, the United States of America “placed second in the ‘ranking’ of the international issuing markets for the Azores, with about 290,000 overnight stays”, while Canada positioned itself “in sixth, with about 101,000 overnight stays “.

“The offer of direct flights from Boston and Toronto to the Azores, both to Ponta Delgada and to Terceira, offered by Azores Airlines, combined with a strong promotion strategy, has allowed the unmistakable growth of overnight stays in recent years”, concludes the statement.