The combination of unique and differentiating aspects and the concentration of a substantial proportion of accommodation and tourism-related companies has made Ponta Delgada the most developed tourism destination in the Azores. A questionnaire was structured to evaluate tourist satisfaction with the municipality as a tourism destination. The data was analyzed using measures of descriptive statistics, non-parametric hypothesis tests, algorithms of Ascendant Hierarchical Cluster Analysis and the Nonlinear Principal Component Analysis. It reveals that Ponta Delgada has earned competitive tourist satisfaction, has competitive attractions and attracts different tourist profiles, with cruise passengers being more satisfied and more likely to stay in the city and engage in softly activities while tourists travelling by airplane, who are more critical, tend to engage in more dynamic, nature-based activities.

The Autonomous Region of the Azores is one of the most sustainable destinations in the world. Being an archipelago comprised of nine small islands, quality and sustainability are critical features in the tourism sector, inducing the need for thorough and technical strategic development processes. Ribeira Grande is an important municipality in the Azores, which envisioned tourism as a strategic sector to develop when the partial liberalization of the air passenger transport sector occurred in 2015. However, this destination had little tourism maturity and competitiveness and required some structural planning work. The development of a strategic plan for tourism for the municipality of Ribeira Grande, including the selection of tourism products, is explained in detail in this article, which highlights the main challenges and results of the process.