Clúster

This was expressed by both Alfonso Rueda and Cesáreo Pardal at the presentation of the campaign Walk to Galicia 2022.

The presentation ceremony of the tourism promotion campaign Walk to Galicia 2022 held in Ourense this Saturday allowed public and private representatives to take stock of the progress of the tourism sector so far this year and reveal their prospects for the months ahead. In this regard, the President of the Xunta, Alfonso Rueda, stressed that the regional government is working to ensure that visitor numbers in 2022 set new records in Galicia. Rueda revealed that the 100,000th compostela was due to be handed out on that day and said that they hope to beat the record figure of 347,000 compostelas achieved in 2019 by the end of the year. The president of the Xunta pointed out that the boost to the sector from the AVE line and the return of international tourists will consolidate its recovery.

“The tourism sector has high expectations for the year 2022. In 2021 we resumed the path of recovery after very complicated months and we managed to lead the tourism recovery of the whole State,” confirmed the president of the Galicia Tourism Cluster, Cesáreo Pardal, during his speech at the event held in Ourense. “Today we continue on this path convinced that it can be a historic year for Galician tourism. A conviction backed by the more than 4 million tourists who visited us in 2021 and the good results of last Easter, with an occupancy rate that exceeded 80% and reached pre-pandemic levels in some areas,” added Cesáreo Pardal to point out that these good results are the result of adding the efforts of the sector, the public-private partnership and the commitment of society. “Together we consolidate in 2021 the image of Galicia as a safe and quality destination with the Way of St. James as the central axis of our tourism offer. Last year the Walk to Galicia campaign called on the whole of Spain to try this experience. And both Galicians and national tourists responded to the call”.

In the words of Alfonso Rueda, this new campaign once again focuses on the great attractions of this land. “We show the best of Galicia at the best time to do it and at the most necessary time”, said the President of the Xunta before referring to aspects such as the 900 beaches that Galicia has, its 112 blue flags, the 1,600 kilometres of coastline; its thermal power, the seven biosphere reserves declared by Unesco; the 160 festivals of tourist interest, and the 10 Jacobean routes with more than 380 Assets of Cultural Interest and in which the cultures of 180 countries are mixed.

“From the Clúster Turismo de Galicia we applaud the launch of Walk to Galicia 2022 to spread this double Xacobeo outside our borders,” said Cesáreo Pardal: “We are sure that it will follow the path of success of the previous campaign because, among other things, the Way fits with the model of quiet tourism, not overcrowded and in contact with nature that tourists and pilgrims demand in the new post-pandemic context. And in this area Galicia offers a wide range of possibilities of tourist experiences of disconnection, rural and gastronomic tourism, maritime, outdoor experiences with a clear commitment to sustainability, an aspect increasingly demanded by the traveller.