Nautical tourism in the North Atlantic

Abstract

The archipelago of the Azores only recently (late 20th century) began to select tourism as one of the levers for the development of the territory. Although nature tourism is the main tourist product, other products have been determined to complement the territory’s characteristics. Among them is nautical tourism, specifically yacht tourism. This tourism segment generates multiple economic opportunities, directly and indirectly. In the Azores, development of nautical tourism centered on the expansion and construction of marinas, providing seven of the nine islands with at least one such structure. Construction of the new marinas did not decrease the number of yachts and crew using the old ones. In fact, these numbers increased in practically all marinas and islands. Most yachtsmen are European, and an average of almost four people per yacht visit the Azores between April and October.