The Azores Local Accommodation Association (ALA) has warned of a worsening downturn in tourism and considers it urgent for the region to move forward with immediate measures, starting with an extraordinary increase in investment in international tourism promotion.
In a statement, the ALA says that tourism activity data released by the Azores Regional Statistics Service (SREA) “confirms the worsening decline” in the region’s local accommodation sector. It represents more than 60% of the Azores’ total tourist accommodation capacity and constitutes “one of the main drivers of the local economy, urban regeneration, population retention” and “income for thousands of families”.
According to the figures released, April 2026 — the first full month after Ryanair’s withdrawal from the region — recorded a year-on-year drop of 22.1% in overnight stays in local accommodation, along with a 24.9% reduction in the number of guests compared to the same period last year, the ALA notes.
The ALA, chaired by João Pinheiro, stresses that the indicators confirm the warnings it has been issuing “for several months” about the “concerning” slowdown in Azorean tourism and the impacts that are becoming “increasingly visible in the regional economy”.
According to the association, the downturn “can no longer be interpreted as a temporary or seasonal situation”. Another figure described as “even more worrying” is that “37.7% of active local accommodation establishments reported no guest activity at all during April”, representing “an increase of 8.6 percentage points” compared to the same period in 2025.
Although recognising the “effort” made by Azores Airlines and TAP to strengthen air connections, the association believes the response “has not been able to offset the loss of international connectivity and airline competition seen in recent months”.
The ALA also points out that the reduced presence of low-cost operators and the weakening of the competitive model are contributing to “an increase in the average cost of travel to the Azores”, making the destination “less competitive and less accessible” for many international source markets.
The association therefore considers it urgent for the region to implement concrete and immediate measures. Beginning with an extraordinary and immediate reinforcement, through the Regional Budget, of investment in international tourism promotion for the Azores during 2026. The aim is to boost demand in the low season, over winter and at the start of the 2027 tourism season.
The association proposes that the next Regional Budget should include multiannual programme contracts for tourism promotion, allowing VisitAzores greater stability and medium-term strategic planning capacity, in line with competing destinations.
It also considers it essential for the Regional Government (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM) to begin preparatory work immediately on the regulations for the Air Route Development Fund, in order to ensure its swift implementation.
The ALA is also calling on VisitAzores, the Regional Government and the relevant authorities to intensify contacts and negotiations with international airlines, including low-cost operators.
“The region still has time to reverse this trend. But each month without concrete measures means more overnight stays lost, less economic activity and greater pressure on hundreds of Azorean businesses,” the association warns in its statement.
The Azores recorded, for the seventh consecutive month, a decline in the number of overnight stays in tourist accommodation in April, with a year-on-year drop of 12.3%, according to data released today by the Regional Statistics Service (SREA).
“In April, across all tourist accommodation establishments in the Azores (hotels, local accommodation and rural tourism), there were 344,300 overnight stays, a figure 12.3% lower than that recorded in the same month last year,” reads the SREA Tourism Activity report.
This marks the seventh consecutive year-on-year decline in overnight stays in tourist accommodation in the region, according to the preliminary results for April and provisional figures for previous months.
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