Alexandre Pascoal, director of the Arquipélago Contemporary Arts Center, calls for greater cultural accessibility, sustained investment in local artists, and policies that protect residents as tourism expands across the Azores.
The growth of tourism in the Azores has brought new economic opportunities, but its benefits for the region’s cultural sector remain difficult to measure, according to Alexandre Pascoal, director of the Arquipélago Contemporary Arts Center on São Miguel Island. In an interview with Complexo N, Pascoal questioned assumptions about tourism’s contribution to artistic employment and cultural programming, while emphasizing the need to protect access to culture for local residents, support younger artists, and address the growing costs of organizing cultural activities in an island region.
The interview forms part of a series examining the relationship between tourism and culture in the Azores, drawing upon the latest available survey by the Azores Sustainable Tourism Observatory (OTSA), published in August 2025 and based on residents’ perceptions during 2024. According to the survey, 67.1% of respondents believed tourism had increased the availability of cultural events, including festivals, concerts, and other artistic activities. Pascoal, however, cautioned against treating public perceptions as evidence of a direct relationship between tourism growth and cultural development.
“A perception is nothing more than that,” he observed, explaining that he lacked reliable data demonstrating whether cultural programming had increased or whether any such increase could be attributed specifically to tourism. His distinction is particularly relevant in a region where the expansion of visitor numbers is frequently associated with broader economic and cultural benefits that have not always been independently documented.
The survey also found that 79.9% of respondents believed tourism created employment opportunities for residents. Pascoal acknowledged that tourism growth would be expected to generate jobs, particularly in hospitality, restaurants, and visitor services. Its effects on artistic employment, however, are less certain. Musicians and folklore groups may benefit from tourism-related activities, he suggested, while the impact on theater, dance, and visual arts is considerably less evident.
He identified a more concrete source of professional development in the Azorean cultural sector: national funding from Portugal’s Directorate-General for the Arts (DGARTES), which began including the autonomous regions in its arts financing framework in 2018. According to Pascoal, this change has contributed to employment and professional opportunities for artists and cultural organizations, independently of tourism growth.
Another concern involves the affordability of cultural participation. The OTSA survey reported that 74.7% of respondents believed tourism had increased prices for access to cultural and natural attractions. Pascoal rejected the suggestion that Azorean culture had already undergone widespread commercialization for tourists, but acknowledged that tourism can increase living costs and create additional pressures on residents, particularly during the June-to-September high season.
He advocated preferential arrangements for local residents, recognizing that the purchasing power of many Azoreans does not necessarily increase alongside tourism-related prices. He also distinguished between entertainment designed primarily for visitors and more structured artistic programming, arguing that public cultural institutions must continue serving the communities in which they operate.
Although Pascoal does not consider São Miguel to be experiencing mass tourism, he identified warning signs at certain heavily visited natural attractions. Managing visitor numbers, protecting sensitive environments, and regulating access where necessary are, in his view, important measures for preserving both environmental quality and the visitor experience.
Beyond tourism, Pascoal placed particular emphasis on the relationship between culture and social inequality. Despite improvements in regional economic indicators, the Azores continue to face significant challenges involving household income and access to essential services. The interview cited a 2024 at-risk-of-poverty rate of 17.3% after social transfers, a circumstance that Pascoal considers relevant to cultural participation.
When families struggle with housing, employment, healthcare, and transportation, regular visits to theaters, museums, libraries, and cinemas can become secondary priorities. Cultural accessibility, he argued, therefore requires more than affordable admission prices. It demands sustained educational initiatives, outreach programs, and efforts to overcome the social barriers that discourage participation.
This responsibility is especially important for younger generations. Pascoal emphasized that emerging artists must have opportunities to develop their work through partnerships, co-productions, exhibitions, performances, and professional exchanges. Public institutions, he suggested, should act as intermediaries that support artistic creation while introducing audiences to both contemporary expression and the cultural achievements of previous generations.
His perspective reflects extensive experience in Azorean cultural administration, including his appointment as chairman of the Teatro Micaelense board in 2011. At the Arquipélago Contemporary Arts Center, he continues to advocate programming that recognizes local artistic production while remaining open to wider cultural influences.
Pascoal also defended artistic independence and freedom of expression, describing cultural institutions as places for questioning, creativity, and public reflection. In a period marked by political polarization and challenges to established freedoms, he argued that the arts must retain their capacity to examine society critically, regardless of whether artistic expression is popular, experimental, traditional, or contemporary.
The interview concluded with concerns about changes in low-cost airline services and the potential consequences for cultural activity. Reduced air connections, particularly during the winter months, could intensify tourism seasonality while increasing transportation expenses for artists, performers, and event organizers. In an outermost European region where cultural production already involves substantial logistical costs, fewer flights and higher fares could make festivals, exhibitions, and artistic exchanges increasingly difficult to organize.
Pascoal also noted that many traditional Azorean festivities exist primarily for local communities rather than tourists, underscoring the importance of distinguishing cultural life from the visitor economy.
His observations point toward a broader question facing the archipelago: how can tourism contribute to economic development without allowing cultural priorities to become dependent upon visitor demand?
The distinction is essential. Tourism can introduce new audiences to Azorean creativity, but the long-term vitality of the arts depends upon education, public investment, artistic freedom, and the participation of residents. A successful cultural policy must therefore consider not only how many visitors enter museums and attend performances, but also how many Azoreans feel that these institutions belong to them.
The enduring value of Azorean culture cannot be measured solely by its attractiveness to visitors. Its deeper significance lies in the opportunities it creates for islanders to imagine, question, remember, and express the society in which they live. Tourism may bring the world to the Azores, but culture must continue to belong, first and foremost, to the people who call the islands home.
Based on the interview with Alexandre Pascoal, director of the Arquipélago Contemporary Arts Center, published by Complexo N.
