Throughout history, times of crisis have always been preceded by periods of change. In fact, the current moment of health, economic, and social crisis that we are experiencing seems to be no exception. Tourism seems to be one of the most affected activities by the COVID-19 pandemic crisis—due not only the cancelled flights but also to the fear of being infected with the virus. In this sense, the present article intends to identify the Azores Archipelago residents’ tourism expectations during the COVID-19 crisis. Using the Azores Islands as a case study and merging it with the authors’ knowledge about this regional reality, it was possible to collect a substantial quantity of data. Thus, this study provides an in-depth perception of the main issues about how this pandemic crisis affects the tourism expectations of the Azores region residents, and consequently, how this situation will influence regional sustainable development. Through the study, it was possible to verify that the significant part of the Azores Archipelago residents (57.5%) will not be going to travel to spend vacations in 2020. Additionally, 84.2% will have holidays in the region; therefore, they stay in the Azores Archipelago. Besides, this study shows that majority of the respondents (61.6%) would not make a reservation for a 2020 vacation.

Bearing in mind the growth in regions with socio-economic bases dependent on tourism, studies that analyze spatial planning processes, regional public policies, and their relationship with tourism activities are essential to achieve the so-desired sustainable territorial development. Through case study research methods, territorial impact analysis, and questionnaires to explore the public perceptions, it was possible to design and implement a study regarding this specific regional governance theme on the Azores Autonomous Region (AAR). The research allowed us to learn that the most affected activities by public territorial policies in the AAR from the respondents’ perspective were accommodation (54.7%) and nature (51.9%). Conversely, the less affected were culture (15.1%) and rental/hire services (17.9). Furthermore, it was possible to identify two factors that rule public policies on the growth and development of the Azores: (i) impact in the natural landscape and (ii) suitable production factors.

There is a close relationship between sustainable tourism, cultural management, and the achievement of the desired sustainable development and growth. These issues seem to be particularly relevant in rural and ultra-peripheral areas, as in the case of the insular territories. Therefore studies that cross these fields using interdisciplinary analysis are pivotal to allow us to understand the patterns, dynamics, and variables that should be considered in the design of a sustainable territorial planning and manage-ment strategy. Contextually, the present study has been conducted based on the analysis of the existent thematic literature along with cross-referencing of collected and selected data for the Azores archipel-ago. In this regard, the present study enables involved actors, decision-makers, and policy-makers to better understand how sustainable tourism and cultural management principles should be addressed in the pursuit of long-term territorial sustainability.

It has become evident that rural tourism grew significantly during the pandemic compared to mass tourism. However, at this time, all the forecasts were wrapped in considerable uncertainty regarding travel, which is not without the elevated associated risk. Therefore, we assessed the perceptions of the entrepreneurs in relation to rural tourism activities regarding the advantages of their rural tourism activity in the Azores for customers. Furthermore, the potential for developing this typology of tourism is pivotal for obtaining very reliable data and information on this topic and enabling us to provide guidelines for the leading regional players. In this regard, an exploratory method was used to assess the perceptions of the entrepreneurs with rural tourism activities in the Azores Islands regarding the customers’ experiences and some other important aspects concerning the promotion of this type of tourism in the region. Throughout this study, it was possible to verify that the most relevant obstacles to the development of rural tourism in the Azores region are the preservation and conservation of nature and endogenous resources and delivering proper infrastructures and regional accessibilities. Contrarily, the increase in community and regional funding and support for rural tourism could be key to the prosperity of this typology of tourism in this insular territory.