Azores Situation Report Wednesday 15th February 2023
Azores break record for overnight stays in tourist accommodation in 2022
The Azores accounted for around 3.2 million overnight stays in tourist accommodation in 2022, an amount above that of 2019, in which a record value had been recorded, according to data from the Regional Statistics Service (SREA).
In the year 2022, in the range of tourist accommodation establishments (hotels, apartment hotels, tourist apartments, inns, rural tourism units and local accommodation units) in the Azores, 3,215.4 thousand overnight stays were recorded, a higher figure by 65.7% compared to the year 2021.
According to data from the Azores Regional Statistics Service, the value for 2022 is the highest since there have been records, surpassing the 2019 record (3,009,385 overnight stays), by 6.8%.
Overnight stays from tourists residing abroad (1,945.4 thousand) more than doubled compared to the same period last year (149.4%), surpassing those of tourists residing in Portugal (1,270.0 thousand), which also registered an increase, but less accentuated (9.4%).
Azores always available for a “good reception” of immigrants
The President of the Government of the Azores, José Manuel Bolieiro, said that the region is a “welcoming community”, which is “always available” to promote a “good reception” of immigrants, whether for economic or humanitarian reasons.
“We are a welcoming community. We have done this in all situations where there is migration for economic reasons and for humanitarian reasons, fleeing persecution or war. We have always been a welcoming community. Today, as always, the Azores and this government will be available for good integration and a good reception”, he said, when asked about the migration policy in the region.
He was speaking to journalists at the Palácio da Conceição, in Ponta Delgada, after a meeting of the Regional Advisory Council for Immigration Affairs.
Carnival returns to the streets in São Miguel with Coliseum dances almost sold out.
Carnival returns to the streets in São Miguel after two years of interregnum due to the pandemic, with parades, the Battle of Limas and dances, including the one at the Coliseu Micaelense, with an “almost sold out” capacity.
“There is great demand. The two dances, the one on Friday and the one on Monday, are almost sold out”, said today the chairman of the board of directors of the Coliseu Micaelense, Cila Simas.
The first Carnival celebration dated back to 1918 at the Coliseu Micaelense, in Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel. Three years later, gala balls began at that venue, with women wearing long dresses and men in black suits, a tradition that is repeated annually during the Carnival season, only suspended due to the covid-19 pandemic. .
“There is a lot of Carnival events on offer, which makes people divide. But the Coliseum maintains the same percentage of participants as in years prior to the pandemic”, highlighted Cila Simas, stressing that there is a great affinity of the public with the traditional Carnival galas at the concert hall.
“This is a ball with great traditions and always has a faithful audience”, underlined the person responsible for the Coliseu Micaelense, a building from the beginning of the 20th century.
President of SATA says that there are already interested parties in the privatization of Azores Airlines
The president of SATA Holding, SA, Luís Rodrigues, announced that there are at least “half a dozen interested parties” in the privatization of 51% of Azores Airlines, even without the terms of reference having been concluded.
Flights between the Azores and North America with “great demand”
The president of SATA stated that renting an Airbus A330 plane to connect the Azores to North America during the summer is the “most profitable solution”, revealing that the flights are in “great demand”.
Speaking to the Lusa agency, Luís Rodrigues said that the company will rent (in a leasing service) an Airbus A330 to the Spanish airline Plus Ultra Líneas Aérea, which will serve “fundamentally” to connect Oakland, California, to the Azorean archipelago.