“We are at the start of a new cycle,” stated Miguel Albuquerque during the regional ceremony for the delivery of ‘Green Key’ awards to Madeira’s tourism enterprises, recognized with the international accolade for 2025. The event took place at a hotel in Caniço, Santa Cruz.
The official assured that efforts will be made in partnership with tourism agents to “improve the destination’s offering in terms of quality (…), in the preservation of landscapes, and the preservation, dissemination, and promotion of natural and built heritage, to ensure tourists continue to enjoy stays perfectly compatible with the lives of local residents.”
The Madeira executive chief emphasized that the primary objective will also be to overcome “a set of occasional constraints found in some of the island’s more attractive locations.”
Albuquerque revealed that the secretary in charge “has political instructions to initiate a qualitative reorganization of spaces,” noting that in some of these locations “fees will be charged to ensure they provide all necessary safety and cleanliness conditions, allowing users to enjoy quality operational and functional conditions.”
The regional leader reinforced the goal to continue updating Madeira as a “quality destination, with pricing adjusted while maintaining ecological balance.”
Miguel Albuquerque indicated that these new measures will be implemented soon, aiming to “ensure Madeira remains a destination of excellence and environmental sustainability.”
“I want to make it clear that these will be the measures we will take; obviously, there may be some public opposition, but we are not here to generate consensus, we are here to make decisions that have been endorsed by the population in elections, and we are here to make decisions that align with the regional interest, the interest of our population, and our tourism agents,” he declared.
The island government president informed that there will be consultations with industry stakeholders, emphasizing the urgency to “quickly reverse some situations that occur occasionally to prevent any perception of declining destination quality.”
“No one desires a degradation of the destination; no one wants to sell a destination at low prices; no one wants a situation of degraded collective experiences, which is not in the interest of the populace or our visitors,” he argued.
Miguel Albuquerque stressed that all actions to be adopted aim to “maintain quality, sustain sustainability, maintain control, and, above all, enhance and promote the region’s assets,” including landscapes, comfort, and safety.
The Madeira official noted that the region achieved “the best numbers in all tourism variables” in the past year.
“But now, we will not rest on our laurels; we will continue to improve, and the keyword is not quantity but price-quality,” he concluded.
