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The Galician national park has just renewed the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas.

It has also joined the Spanish Ecotourism Association.

The Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park has recently reaffirmed its commitment to compatibility between environmental protection and sustainable tourism. And it has done so, moreover, in two ways, at both national and European level.

In the first case, this commitment has materialised with the incorporation of the Atlantic Islands to the Ecotourism Association of Spain (AEE), a non-profit organisation created in 2010 to promote sustainable tourism in protected areas. The AEE is mainly made up of associations of tourism entrepreneurs located in natural areas, management entities of these areas, public administrations involved in tourism management, innovation entities (universities, foundations), tourism and technological innovation companies, and tourism companies committed to conservation and local development.

The accession to the AAE of the great emblem of Galicia’s protected areas was approved at the general assembly held at the end of November and has made the Atlantic Islands the first national park to form part of this state-wide entity.

At the European level, on 2 December, the European Parliament held the ceremony for the presentation of the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas accreditations and the Star Awards granted by the EUROPARC Federation. The session not only served to introduce the six new Charter winners, but also to recognise the work and efforts of the nine national, natural and regional parks from all over Europe that have managed to renew their accreditation, including the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park, the only Spanish representative on this list. This revalidation of the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism is a recognition both for the park and for the tourism companies that operate there.