Alonso Miguel presided at the Green Key certificate delivery ceremony

July 20, 2023

The Regional Secretary for the Environment and Climate Change, Alonso Miguel, presided this Tuesday at the ceremony for the delivery of Green Key certificates to the recipients of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, in Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel.

Alonso Miguel explained that “ensuring the balance between the absolute need to protect a unique natural heritage, of enormous richness and diversity, but also of great fragility, without harming the economic and social development of the Azores, is, in fact, a complex challenge and one of the main responsibilities assigned to the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change”.

“Environmental sustainability is, as such, a cornerstone for the development of our Region, as a brand image that leverages a key sector for the Azores, which is tourism”, he asserted.

The Secretary for the Environment stressed that “effectively, an extraordinary path has been travelled in the Region, which led to the Azores being recognized, in 2019, as a sustainable tourist destination by the EarthCheck standard, in accordance with the criteria of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council”.

Last October, it was possible to reach the Silver level of this certification, and, in order to maintain this positive and consolidated evolution, the objective is to obtain the Gold level in 2024.

“The Azores are, in fact, the only archipelago in the world certified as a Sustainable Tourist Destination. We are, therefore, focused on ensuring a model of tourism development that protects what distinguishes us and the best we have to offer”, he said.

The Governator highlighted that “this is precisely the objective of several projects promoted by the Regional Government, through the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change, such as the Friend of Nature programme, the Espírito Verde Awards or the Miosotis Award, and this is also the objective of the Green Key Programme.

According to Alonso Miguel, “the Green Key certificate is an environmental accreditation mechanism for companies in the tourism sector, recognized by international entities, coordinated in Portugal by ABAE – Associação Bandeira Azul da Europa and the responsibility of FEE – Federation for Environmental Education, whose programme is in a leading position as a standard of excellence in the sphere of environmental responsibility and sustainable operation within the tourism industry”.

“This is a highly prestigious certificate that represents a commitment on the part of tourist units such as hotels, hostels, local accommodation businesses, campsites, holiday camps, conference centres, restaurants, among other tourist units, which guarantee the subjection of their tourist establishments to strict criteria and in line with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations to be achieved by 2030”, he revealed.

“For these reasons, and because of its importance for sustainable tourism in the Region, it is with great satisfaction that we proceed to officially deliver the Green Key 2023 awards to 20 establishments, from seven islands in the Azores, among a restricted lot of 268 nationally awarded, and in a group of about 4000 establishments, from more than 60 countries, from all over the world, recognizing all the dedication and merit in the pursuit of environmental excellence”.

In this edition, in the Azores, tourist developments were awarded in the categories of Hotel, Rural Tourism, Local Accommodation and Camping Park, namely INATEL Flores Hotel and INATEL Graciosa Hotel, on Flores and Graciosa, respectively, Pousada Forte da Horta and Quinta da Meia Eira on Faial, Aldeia da Fonte and Areias da Prainha on Pico, Make It Happen Farm on São Jorge, Quinta do Martelo on Terceira, and, on São Miguel, the Octant Hotels Furnas, Quinta das Laranjeiras, Pestana Bahia Praia, Quinta da Mó, The Lince Nordeste Country and Nature Hotel, Volcanic Charming House, Casas do Forneiro, Casas do Vale, and Tradicampo with Casa da Fonte, Casa da Talha, Casas do Pátio and Quinta das Cycas.

Alonso Miguel concluded, stating that “there are four more tourist units awarded in the Azores than in 2022, which represents an increase of 25% compared to the previous year, reinforcing this positive evolution, which brings great expectations that in 2024 there may be even more tourist units recognized in the Region”.