Clúster

• Galicia and Northern Portugal join forces with a new Tourism Cluster.

On Thursday, August 1, the presentation of the European project Clustertur_GNP took place at the Museo do Mar de Galicia, in Vigo. This cross-border cluster has the main objective of strengthening tourism in the Galicia-Northern Portugal Euroregion, seeking to attract an international audience and expanding its reach to markets such as Asia, Latin America, the United States and Canada. The initiative has an initial investment of 700,000 euros.

The presentation was led by Nuno Almeida, director of the European Territorial Cooperation Group of the Galicia-Northern Portugal Euroregion; Luis Pedro Martins, president of Turismo do Porto e Norte de Portugal; and Xosé Manuel Merelles, director of the Galician Tourism Agency. During the event, the relevance of the tourism sector in the northwest of the peninsula was emphasized, especially highlighting the cultural importance of the Camino de Santiago as a central axis.

The project seeks to foster collaboration between the public and private sectors on both banks of the Miño, promoting networking between local businesses. Furthermore, it emphasizes the sustainable nature of the tourism that the cluster aims to attract, aligned with European sustainability objectives.

The president of the Galician Tourism Cluster, Cesáreo Pardal, and the secretary of the CTG and president of the Tourism and Hospitality Business Federation of Pontevedra, César Sánchez-Ballesteros, took part in the event by participating in a round table focused on the perspectives of the cooperation between actors in the Euroregion. The session was moderated by the communication director of the Euroregion, Begoña Íñiguez, and completed by the general director of the Associação de Turismo do Porto e Norte de Portugal, Susana Ribeiro; the CEO of Living Tours, Rui De Carvalho Terroso; and the sales director of Pousadas de Portugal, Ana Rita Amorim.

During his speech, Pardal highlighted the strong cultural ties that Galicia and the Portuguese country share. “Portugal is not only a priority market for Galicia, it is also a strategic ally for our land. The cross-border cluster will allow sharing knowledge and creating synergies between participating agents on both sides of the border,” said the president of the CTG.

Next steps

It is anticipated that a new presentation of the cluster will be held by the end of the year, where it is expected to announce new products developed under this initiative. The Clustertur_GNP project represents a significant step towards the consolidation of Galicia and Northern Portugal as a unique and attractive tourist destination at an international level.