Angra do Heroismo, Azores Islands, Portugal, Sept. 1, 2025 (Lusa) - The Milk and Cheese Route, created a year ago on the island of Terceira in Portugal's Azores region, has been gaining visibility, but could still grow in terms of the number of farms and visitors, according to the local council of Angra do Heroísmo.
"At the weekend, a farmer told me that he could no longer accept all the requests from callers to visit his farm. The route is growing and our aim is for more milk production companies to join the route and for it to be an asset for the sector, combining agriculture and tourism," Angra do Heroísmo local authority councillor Fátima Amorim told Lusa.
The Milk and Cheese Route was launched in May 2024 on the initiative of the local authority, in collaboration with the Praia da Vitória Professional Education Foundation.
The concept was to allow tourists visiting Terceira Island to experience the day-to-day life of a farm and taste the milk and cheese produced there.
Since its first day, the route has covered eight agricultural producers, including two with cheese factories, in the two districts of Terceira Island (Angra do Heroísmo and Praia da Vitória).
"We're so small that these projects make sense if they're an island project. [Tourists] can go to a dairy farm in Praia da Vitória and come to a cheese -making centre in Angra do Heroísmo," Fátima Amorim explained to Lusa.
The number of producers hasn't increased, but the list of tourist entertainment companies, which liaise with the farms, has grown from three to 11 in the space of a year, including some producers who have also decided to take on this role.
Without exact figures for visits, the councillor for Angra do Heroísmo said that the project "is still in its infancy", but has already seen a significant increase in demand.
"It's a route that's growing day by day. We've already had people coming from other islands to Terceira who also travel the route. It's one of those projects that is a pleasure to implement. It has everything it takes to be successful and also to contribute to the income of agricultural producers," she emphasised.
According to Fátima Amorim, not all producers are experiencing the same level of demand, but the feedback has been positive.
"They themselves have been going around hotels and travel agencies promoting their route," she emphasised.
This year, the local authority publicised the route at the Lisbon tourism trade fair (BTL), accompanied by the producers.
It also created short promotional videos, circulating on social media, to give the project greater visibility.
"The aim is to grow more and more, to present new products, because there's a lot of experience on the farm itself, from animal management to gastronomy," she emphasised.
The entry of new agricultural producers into the project requires the submission of documentation to the local council of Angra do Heroísmo and verification that the farm has suitable conditions and offers experiences that fit in with the concept of the route.
Visits can be booked, depending on the availability of the producers, who still have to do the farm work, on the website https://rotadoleiteedoqueijo.pt, where you can already read some comments from those who have taken part.
"On the website we give people the chance to leave their testimonies of the visit and we've always had great praise for the farmers who welcome the tourists," concluded Fátima Amorim.
CYB/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
