Fairs

The Galicia Tourism Cluster presented in Fitur a balance of the work carried out during the last 15 months to plan the recovery and establish measures for the survival of the companies

The president of the Galician Tourism Cluster, Cesáreo Pardal, was convinced today that tourism activity has already started the recovery process, which begins to translate into an increase in bookings starting in the summer. Cesáreo Pardal presented this morning at Fitur a balance of the work carried out in recent months by the Cluster to face the crisis and prepare for recovery.

The members of the Executive Council of the Galicia Tourism Cluster were accompanied in the presentation by the first vice president of the Xunta de Galicia, Alfonso Rueda, and by the director of the Galicia Tourism Agency, Nava Castro.

The president of the Cluster pointed out at the beginning of his speech that Fitur 2021 marks a historic milestone since “it is the starting point for the recovery of activity in an uncertain and yet to be discovered scenario. Despite this, he assured that Galicia can present itself “to the world tourism industry, to operators, intermediaries and clients with a message of strength and opportunity.”

For Cesáreo Pardal “Galicia can be presented as a safe destination because that has been the model for which it had been betting for a long time.” Specifically, he pointed out that Galicia’s tourism is not very crowded, in contact with nature and committed to the territory. He also stressed that the Cluster, since its creation almost eight years ago, “has represented and defended a model of collaboration between industry, public administrations and knowledge”

Thanks to this collaboration model, it was possible to respond from the initial moments of the pandemic with palliative measures and support to companies; contingency plans and, at this time, with a planning adjusted to the new scenarios and the characteristics of the sector.

Among the actions that have been the result of this collaboration model, Cesáreo Pardal recalled the “We are in Galicia” bonds, which have been launched at the initiative of the Galicia Tourism Cluster and which have had a success that has exceeded all expectations.

The president of the Cluster recalled that the Cluster had to change part of its mission to “learn to defend tourism without tourism.” First, it made efforts to improve knowledge and identify possible scenarios. As he stated, “unfortunately, many of the forecasts made at the beginning of the pandemic were fulfilled over the months.” “The positive reading,” he added, “is that the previous description of the scenario allowed us to be better prepared to face it.”

Among the actions carried out by the Cluster during the crisis, Cesáreo Pardal recalled the active participation in the mechanisms of direct help to companies. He specifically referred to the two rescue plans undertaken by the Xunta de Galicia, which represented an economic injection of 120 million euros “which were essential for the survival of thousands of companies.”

He also cited the active participation of the Cluster in defining the measures for de-escalation or readjustment of capacity.

Cesáreo Pardal also stressed that from the beginning free consulting and advisory services were made available to companies to help them deal with the situations created by the pandemic, such as massive cancellations, or the Temporary Employment Regulation Files. The “100 x 100 Tourism” initiative allowed more than 100 companies to have access to these services.

The Cluster also participated in the dissemination to the sector of the traceability measures or in the resolution of legal doubts.

At the same time, it has kept active the actions that it has implemented since its creation, with programs such as Galicia MICE, for business tourism; Galicia family destination; Galicia active destination; Golf and Health; Galicia Emotion; a Rest in the Paths, of thermal tourism; o Wine tourism in Galicia.

Cesáreo Pardal ended his speech with the announcement of the next presentation of the Galicia Safe Destination Master Plan, prepared together with the Xunta and the Galician universities. The president of the Cluster announced that the plan will bet on Galicia as a safe destination, a smart destination and a sustainable destination.