In the coming months, the town of Pedro Vaz will receive the “tourist villages” project from the City Council, as a way of dynamising that village, which over time has been losing its population.
The information is provided by the Mayor of Maio, Miguel Rosa, explaining that the idea is to transform that village into “a real point of tourist interest”, through the project that will be implemented in partnership with the Tourism Fund, with a view to stopping the exodus rural area that can be seen in that village, with the departure of his youth to other parts of the island and the country.
Being the centre of the northernmost areas of the island, the town of Pedro Vaz played an important role in the past, with emphasis on the health, education and municipal services sector, in addition to agriculture, so this project is intended to bring the centrality for that town, which is celebrating, as it is celebrating the patron saint “São Pedro”.
This initiative by the Mayan municipality is welcomed by the president of the Tourism Association of the island of Maio, Arlindo Cardoso, for whom this choice is more than deserved, since the town of Pedro Vaz, located in the heart of the island, has “excellent” conditions, but that need to be improved, worked on and used.
He highlighted as an example the agriculture, livestock and fishing sectors and the potential for the implementation of tourism, both in the mountains and in the sun and beach, in view of its location, but above all the historical issue, as it is one of the first locations populated after the discovery of the island by Portuguese navigators.
“Pedro Vaz was in the past an area known as the greenest place on the island, where there was a lot of water and where there were many coconut trees, date palms, a place where people liked to take walks, socialising, in harmony with nature”, he emphasized. , informing that the city council is working to install a desalinated water production unit with greater power, with a view to making water available for agriculture.
Arlindo Cardoso recalled, on the other hand, that that location is the one that is closest to the highest peak of the island, in addition to the other attractions, so he advocated being another potential, in addition to the historical issue that underlies that location.
Pedro Vaz was once the centre of the north, but over time it has been losing its youth due to the lack of any policy aimed at fixing the population.
“We have very beautiful beaches, in fact, the northern area is the one with the highest number of nesting sea turtles. In addition, we have a black sand beach, something unique on the island that serves for some treatment”, he underlined.
He defended that it is necessary to work on the issue of access to the same beaches, which, he stressed, despite being highly sought after by tourists, still need some intervention.
The president of the Tourism Association of the island of Maio also said that the issue of professional training should be one of the village’s priorities, encouraging young people to settle in the north.
He also highlighted as a priority the part of the cuisine, agriculture, fishing, livestock raising, not discarding the question of history, which, in his opinion, could be a great asset for the ecotourism sector, which is designed for that locality and entire northern part of the island.
Arlindo Cardoso stressed that the various houses that are closed should be taken advantage of to turn them into residences for those who will choose the island for holidays or work, stressing that it is also necessary to create green spaces to make that location even more attractive, remembering that there are several dams to retain rainwater, as well as a desalinated water production unit, which can provide support.
The official assured that in the creation of this project, the issue of the island’s gastronomy was taken into account.
He recalled, for example, that “txacina” is one of the island’s well-known dishes and that it had great prominence in that locality, stressing that all these aspects are included in the Maio20/25 project, which in his opinion will contribute to the improvement of living conditions. life of the people of the northern part of the island.
Câmara Municipal do Maio anuncia projecto “aldeias turísticas” para a aldeia de Pedro Vaz – InforPress