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The Galician Tourism Cluster organized a trade mission to the British fair in which more than 20 professionals and businessmen participated.

The promotion of tourism experiences linked to the Way of St. James in the British market and other international markets was the objective shared by more than 20 tourism professionals who travelled to London to participate in the World Travel Market by the hand of the Galician Tourism Cluster.

Both the representatives of the Galician Tourism Cluster and the heads of the participating companies also made contact with suppliers of technologies applied to tourism. In this sense, the president of the Galician Tourism Cluster, Cesáreo Pardal, said that international meetings like this are an opportunity to keep Galicia at the forefront of the transformation process towards smart tourism.

The mission was organised by the Cluster in collaboration with the Tourism Agency of the Xunta de Galicia, which had a space at the Turespaña stand at the fair to promote the destination and the Walk to Galicia campaign.

Cesáreo Pardal was highly satisfied with Galicia’s participation in the London fair “because it comes at the best time, when tourism in Galicia demonstrated its capacity for recovery after the pandemic to national visitors, and should also initiate the recovery of international tourism”. Cesáreo Pardal expressed his conviction that strengths and opportunities such as Xacobeo or the capacity to offer safe tourism “will also be understood in the same way by visitors who have to start arriving from other countries”.

In this sense, the vice president of the Cluster, Jesus Picallo, also stressed the importance of offering international markets experiences linked to the Way. He referred, in particular, to gastronomic tourism, cruises or destinations such as the Costa da Morte or the Ribeira Sacra, which “are easy to relate to the character of experience and even with the culture and spirituality of the Way”.

For his part, Alfonso Martínez, treasurer of the Galician Tourism Cluster, who also participated in the trade mission, stressed the opportunity that this fair represents to attract quality tourism that travels to Santiago de Compostela and that travels to other destinations, such as the Rías Baixas, in any season.

Part of the Galician delegation took part in an activity called “Buyers’ Speed Networking”, in which they had the opportunity to hold five-minute meetings with other professionals with the aim of initiating business contacts.