Clúster

Agalber association and the Xunta have signed a collaboration agreement to promote both initiatives.

The Xunta and Agalber, the Galician Association of Private Hostels (an entity that is part of the Galician Tourism Cluster), have just signed an agreement to promote the network of these establishments on the Way of St. James and publicize the quality of their services and facilities while reinforcing the image of Galicia as a safe and quality tourist destination. This was explained during a ceremony held in Arzúa by the first vice-president of the Xunta and Regional Minister of Presidency, Justice and Tourism, Alfonso Rueda, and the president of Agalber, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Aira.

The agreement provides for an investment by the Xunta de Galicia of 30,000 euros in the promotional campaign and also includes the dissemination outside Galicia of the new booking platform being developed by Agalber under the name Bookalbergue, which also has the support of the regional government through Galician Tourism Agency.

The more than one hundred private hostels that are part of the association will be the first establishments that will be integrated into the platform, which will be operational in the near future, but the intention of its promoters is that they can also incorporate hostels in other communities through which passes the Way of St. James and thus encourage greater use by pilgrims. In fact, those responsible for Agalber have already established contacts with groups of private hostels outside Galicia and even Portugal and the reception of the project has been positive.

Pilgrims who want to use the platform to know the range of accommodation available and formalize their reservations can do so through the website Bookalbergue.com and a mobile application.

The collaboration between the Xunta and Agalber to strengthen the sector is also materialising through other actions such as the pilot tests that are being carried out in eight private establishments to check their safety. This initiative consists of the installation of CO2 meters to check their ventilation and, based on the results, to draw up a manual of good practices.