The governor speaking in Funchal during the launch of the book “Madeira — Tourism 2015-2024”, an initiative by the Regional Secretariat for Environment, Tourism and Culture, noted that the tourism sector has increased by 66% in overnight stays and 130% in total revenues over the past nine years, according to regional tourism secretary Eduardo Jesus.
In his remarks, Miguel Albuquerque assured that his PSD/CDS-PP coalition government will not “rest on its laurels” and outlined several challenges Madeira faces with the recorded tourism growth.
The head of the Madeiran government emphasized the need to minimize pressure on popular tourist sites, particularly walking trails, reiterating the Regional Government’s plan to implement cleaning and security measures, and impose fees at certain locations.
He also suggested that several areas could be revitalized and opened to expand tourism offerings.
Miguel Albuquerque (PSD) stressed the necessity to “significantly improve” the quality of the restaurant and café offerings.
“There is an aesthetic deficit, it’s necessary to say this, that needs to be addressed. It is unacceptable that, at this moment, a large part of the café and restaurant offerings in Madeira still use plastic chairs, lack napkins, and have umbrellas each with different advertisements,” he said.
“That’s how things work, if people don’t like it, so be it,” he reinforced, noting that the coastal areas also require improvements throughout most of the island.
Miguel Albuquerque also argued that the region needs to reintroduce tourist helicopters, stating that “it is essential for high-income tourists” to visit the island and travel, for example, to golf courses.
“At the moment, we need, similar to good European destinations, an outlet and the capacity to accommodate private jets,” he added, pointing out that these issues currently involve substantial bureaucracy.
Investing in worker training, increasing salaries, limiting TVDEs (passenger transport in uncharacterized vehicles), controlling car rental operations, and limiting local accommodation, especially in Funchal, are other measures Albuquerque believes need to be implemented.
