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The agreement reached within the framework of the so-called “pact for a safe destination” includes 50,000 places for voluntary training and a telephone number to resolve doubts of companies and professionals

An online advice service will be offered by a team that will solve the doubts formulated by the professionals of the sector

The Xunta has also drawn up a series of manuals for the different agents in the sector with the main recommendations and health and safety measures.

The Galician Government, through the CSHG, and the sector associations of each province will offer 500 training actions focused on health safety within what the Regional Minister of Culture and Tourism, Román Rodríguez, has described as a “pact for a safe destination” in which the Galician Government and the tourism sector as a whole will work together. The agreement signed between the Xunta, the Cluster Tourism of Galicia and the sectorial and professional associations of each province, includes a battery of actions to improve the information, advice and training of the Galician tourist companies and professionals in the matter of sanitary security, as well as economic support to adapt to the situation supervened by the coronavirus. In addition,

In this context, and within the reactivation plan that the Galician government has begun to develop with the aim of ensuring that Galicia is a safe destination, it has been agreed to set up a voluntary training plan provided by the Galician Higher Centre for Hotel and Catering Business (CSHG) and the sectoral and provincial bodies. The initiative will be launched next week and will have an initial offer of 50,000 places in 500 general training actions adapted to the specificities of each sub-sector and each geographical area.

Román Rodríguez stressed that this is an initial offer, which will be extended if necessary in order to reach the greatest number of professionals and establishments. He also advanced that participants will be able to obtain an optional certificate that accredits knowledge of health safety measures. This proposal is added to the tele-training service provided by the CSHG since the beginning of the health crisis to improve the training of tourism companies and professionals in aspects such as languages, marketing or digital tools.

Manuals for sector agents
To further the objectives of the Pact for a Safe Destination, the Xunta, through the CSHG, the Sergas and the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (ISSGA), in collaboration with representatives of the sector and entities such as the Institute for Spanish Tourism Quality (ICTE), the Galician Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (Fegamp) and specialists such as Professor and Chair of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Santiago de Compostela, Juan Gestal, prepared 11 manuals for the different agents in the sector with the main recommendations and health and hygiene safety measures.

These publications condense the obligatory requirements established by the Ministry of Health, the recommendations prepared by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism and other advice adapted to Galician establishments, taking into account their particularities to facilitate their consultation by the different agents. In particular, manuals adapted to restaurants, hotels, rural accommodation, hostels, campsites, spas, travel agencies, active tourism, golf courses, tourist guides and tourist offices will be available. They will be able to be updated according to the evolution of the alarm state and the different instructions derived from the single control.

Resolution of doubts
In addition, another of the pillars of this pact is the creation of a free hotline for tourist establishments that will provide personalized advice on recommendations and health safety measures. This service will be provided by a team that will resolve the doubts raised by professionals in the sector. At the moment, the implementation of this telephone is being finalized and it will start working in the next few days, giving due account to the agents of the sector.

The Regional Minister of Culture and Tourism highlighted that all these initiatives are part of the Galicia, Safe Destination programme, which has a total budget of 5 million euros and which also includes economic support for professionals and establishments in the sector to adopt health and safety measures.

In this sense, Román Rodríguez stressed that for the Galician Government it is a “fundamental priority” that these actions reach the largest possible number of Galician establishments, which is why the Government will contribute to the acquisition of the necessary material.

Collaborating entities
All these measures will be developed in collaboration with the following professional and sectorial groups and associations: the Clúster Turismo de Galicia, the Unión Hostelera Coruñesa, the Asociación Provincial de Empresarios de Hostelería y Turismo de Lugo, the Federación de Hostelería de Ourense, the Asociación de Empresarios de Hostelería en Pontevedra, the Consorcio de Empresarios Turísticos de Sanxenxo, the Asociación Provincial de Empresarios de la Restauración y Hospedaje de Santiago de Compostela, the Galician Federation of Rural Tourism, the Galician Association of Private Hostels, the Galician Camping Association, the Galician Association of Spas, the Galician Association of Travel Agencies, the Professional Association of Galician Tourist Guides, the Galician Association of Active Tourism Companies and the Galicia Destino Golf Association.