Fairs

Galician companies travelling to England held numerous meetings to promote their products and Galicia as a destination.

The Cluster provided a space for meetings within the space reserved by Turespaña for Galicia Tourism Agency.

Numerous meetings and encounters, and a good number of contacts made are the most visible result of the intense activity developed by the representatives of the Galician tourism sector in the last edition of the international tourism fair World Travel Market, held in London between Monday 7 and Wednesday 9 of this month of November. Galicia was one of the four communities, along with the Basque Country, Madrid and Castilla-La Mancha, which joined the Turespaña stand at the WTM. There, the Galicia Tourism Agency had a promotional space in which in turn reserved a meeting area that the Galicia Tourism Cluster made available to participants in the trade mission that has promoted, once again, to this tourism event, one of the most important in the international calendar.

The president of the Cluster, Cesáreo Pardal; the vice-president, Jesús Picallo, and the treasurer, Alfonso Martínez, headed this mission made up of almost twenty companies and entities: Viajes Interrías, Tee Travel, Circuitos Galicia, CN Travel, Galicia Villas, MEGA Mundo Estrella Galicia, Hotel Pirámide, Grupo Carrís, OCA Hotels, Duermingbeds, Pazo Los Escudos Hotel & Spa Resort, Pazo do Río, Hostal Monasterio de Moraime, Gesca Hoteles, Paco & Lola, Nest Style Santiago and the Galician Tourist Housing Association (Aviturga).

During their stay at WTM, the Cluster delegation took part in various activities and meetings. The opening day allowed them to exchange views with the heads of the Spanish delegation: the Secretary of State for Tourism and President of Turespaña, Fernando Valdés, and the Director of this state agency, Miguel Sanz. They were also able to discuss and study possibilities for collaboration with representatives of other similar entities, such as the Destination Jerez Tourism Cluster, with whose president, Antonio Mariscal, with whom Cesáreo Pardal held a meeting in which the Councillor for Tourism of the City Council of Jerez, Isabel Gallardo, also took part.

The director of Galicia Tourism Agency, Nava Castro, also present at the WTM, highlighted the good opportunities that the London fair has meant for Galician tourism for its ability to make available to British buyers a destination not overcrowded, with direct air connections and flights of a few hours duration.