The Azores region airspace liberalization and its territorial cohesion

• Autor(a) principal: Coutinho, António Alves dos Santos Borges
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10071/30168
• topic: Azores; Territorial cohesion; Airspace liberalization; Açores; Coesão territorial; Liberalização do espaço aéreo

This dissertation tries to provide insight into the effects on the territorial cohesion following airspace liberalization in the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal, composed of nine islands, with demographic and economic concentration on two of them, which is located in the North Atlantic Ocean. With an historical dependence on small scale agriculture and later on from transfers coming from the Republic and the European Union, the Azores tried to diversify its economy by liberalizing airspace in 2015 in an effort to promote tourism development. This research thus tries to address the question of whether this policy decision has made a positive contribution to the region’s territorial cohesion, a policy objective endorsed by the European Union. The study uses a methodology that combines methods of regional analysis as well as a detailed and nuanced examination of several indicators at island level. The study collected data on several relevant dimensions, such as tourism data, demographics, economy and labour market, and tries to compare how these have evolved in each island, and with the Azores as a whole. The findings reveal that airspace liberalization does not seem to have made a positive contribution to the region’s territorial cohesion. This is especially so because a concentration of touristic activities is felt in São Miguel. Also, the demographic and economic concentration trends have not been significantly altered. These matters may raise concerns about the future of territorial cohesion in the region if this development strategy continues to be followed.