Azores Situation Report Wednesday February 26th 2025
Regional Tourism Inspectorate conducted 535 inspection and detection actions and received 446 complaints in 2024
The Regional Tourism Inspectorate (IRTu), under the administration of the Regional Secretariat for Tourism, Mobility and Infrastructures, received 446 complaints last year. These included 37 that fell within the remit of other entities, for which reason they were forwarded to the appropriate department.
According to data now released by IRTu, among the 409 complaints investigated, besides those registered in the complaints book, 27 were received via the electronic complaints book platform and 35 via the respective electronic complaints system ( https://gra.formstack.com/
The islands with the highest concentration of tourism services and activities register the highest number of complaints, namely São Miguel and Terceira.
Most complaints (65.77%) concern tourist accommodation establishments, with 16% focusing on issues regarding the operation/conservation of facilities/infrastructures and 53% on complaints about the provision of services.
In 2024, there was a very significant increase in the number of complaints received compared to 2023. This increase is in line with the growth in tourism demand and supply.
IRTu conducted 535 inspection and detection actions, covering 216 tourist accommodation establishments and 92 tourist entertainment companies. Among the overall number of actions, 216 were carried out around tourist accommodation (40% of the total).
84 accommodations were found to be illegal, 64 were found to be irregular and 79 detection actions were carried out in places of significant tourist interest. For IRTu, this is a worrying sign as it indicates a considerable number of entities operating without registration/licenses.
IRTu noted that detecting these situations is becoming increasingly difficult due to some “sophistication” in concealing illegal activities.
However, it stressed that most situations detected have resulted in corrective actions/legalization of the situations identified.
In 2024, 148 actions were conducted to detect unregistered/licensed accommodation and registered accommodation in irregular situations, through the analysis of various online booking platforms.
With a view to detecting (land-based) tourism activities and occupations by unregistered companies or professionals, 79 detection actions were carried out in places of major tourist interest, in addition to ports and airports.
One of IRTu’s main goals is to help reduce the parallel and/or unregistered economy, in addition to detecting the supply of unlicensed/registered accommodation and the supply of registered accommodation in irregular situations.
The Regional Secretary for Tourism, Berta Cabral, argued that “the development of regional tourism depends directly on the quality of the experiences offered. These inspections identify and help eliminate inappropriate practices, instilling the best practices and actions desired standards among operators.”
The Regional Tourism Inspectorate has intensified its inspections in the tourist accommodation sector, focusing on inspections of registered local accommodations. It has also identified accommodations operating without the appropriate license or registration and detected irregularities in registered/licensed units, mostly using online monitoring of tourist accommodation booking platforms.
Last year was marked by a significant development of the tourist offer in the Azores, with a significant increase in accommodation available, both in tourist developments and local accommodation units. There was also an increase in tourist entertainment activities.
Simultaneously, the Azores continued to consolidate its position as a tourist destination of choice, with a significant increase in demand. This growth, fueled by the archipelago’s growing reputation, has contributed to a reduction in seasonality.