200 entities have requested the Xunta’s line of aids for the organization of congresses on the occasion of Xacobeo 21.

200 entities have requested the Xunta’s line of aids for the organization of congresses on the occasion of Xacobeo 21.

The call is endowed with 500,000 euros and aims to enhance the congress activity in Galicia for its capacity to deseasonalization and high added value.

Nearly 200 organizations submitted their applications to the new line of aid launched by the Xunta de Galicia to promote tourism of meetings and events in our Community. This is a call endowed with 500,000 euros that aims to promote on the occasion of Xacobeo 21 the congress activity, a particularly important area in the Galician tourism model for its capacity to seasonally and to promote high value-added tourism.

The beneficiaries of this line of aid, whose application deadline closed last week, may receive between 2,500 euros and 25,000 euros depending on criteria such as the type of event, the number of attendees, the month of celebration, its geographical scope or the existence of complementary activities. “The aim is to encourage more congresses that take place in the low season and help us to continue advancing in our goal of promoting Galicia as a destination in this segment,” said the head of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Roman Rodriguez, who advanced this figure in his visit to hosted buyers who participated in the familiarization trip promoted by Galicia MICE.

This commitment is part of the Xunta’s commitment to promote this sector, materialized in actions such as the Galicia MICE project, promoted by the Tourism Cluster with the support of the regional government to promote tourism meetings, incentives, conferences and events. An initiative in the framework of which is betting on the development of this tourism segment, “a resource of great importance, and that has in Xacobeo 21 a strategic opportunity for growth,” explained the head of Culture and Tourism.

In addition to its ability to decentralize and deseasonalization of tourism, it is estimated that this sector moves about 60 million euros each year, generated through more than a thousand events of different sizes. According to data from the Association of Professional Conference Organizers (OPC Galicia), these tourists spend an average of 250 euros per day. As stressed by the conselleiro, these figures, added to the fact that visitors are likely to repeat their journey outside the workplace, make it a profile of tourists of special interest for destinations such as different Galician cities.