Cluster

The director of Tourism of Galicia, accompanied by the president of the Galician Tourism Cluster, took stock of the participation in the first of the international meetings of the tourism sector

Good feelings and objectives achieved, these are the main conclusions of Galicia’s participation in the International Tourism Fair held last week in Madrid. A fair that closed with record number of visitors to the Galician stand. More than 76,500 people, a thousand more than last year’s edition, came to learn more about the Galician tourist offer in depth in the five days of the fair. In addition, more than 350 professional meetings were held and laid the foundations for the international projection of tourism in the Galician Community for this year.
The director of Tourism of Galicia, Nava Castro, accompanied by the president of the Galician Tourism Cluster, Francisco González, said that “Galicia met its objectives”, since the Galician Community was recognized as a quality destination, which takes advantage of its best resources and its natural and cultural heritage in a sustainable way and as a hospitable and welcoming place. As Nava Castro pointed out, Fitur once again became the best showcase for spreading and promoting the Galician destination. The promotional activity will continue with the participation of Galicia in 40 fairs around the world during this year, of which 25 sunsets of international scope.
During the five days of the fair, the Galician exhibitor hosted a total of 43 presentations of the tourist offer of the four provinces, responding to all entities that requested it. It was 13 more acts than in the last edition. More than 200,000 brochures and promotional materials were distributed from the participating entities. There was also contact with more than 250 journalists and bloggers of different nationalities who came to the stand to obtain information about the destination Galicia.
Enogastronomy and family tourism gain importance
During the days dedicated to professionals, Galicia participated in the Workshops Hosted Buyers with a dozen Business to Business meetings, with the main international tour operators interested in destinations such as the Galician, rich in culture and heritage, in addition to holding meetings with representatives of the Tourism Offices of Spain abroad that served to carry out the annual planning of collaboration.
In the work area managed by the Galician Tourism Cluster, more than 350 interviews were held among professionals from the national territory as well as from countries such as France, Portugal, Germany, Colombia, Mexico and China where it was shown the great interest of visitors for the gastronomy of Galicia and the global tourist offer, in addition to family tourism, the Way of Santiago as a family and new products, such as the routes by car and lookout points or Escenarios at the wheel, presented during the fair. Besides getting to know the products promoted by Turismo de Galicia and the Galician Tourism Cluster, visitors could also “brag about Galicia”, an initiative of the Cluster that allowed more than a thousand snapshots to be uploaded to the social networks of the boasters’ community that will enter a draw for 5 two-night stays in Galicia.
Exhibitor with varied activities
The site that housed all the Galician offer was attended by 22 tourist information officers, with specific training in the matter that attended the public at the 17 counters. There were also offered tastings of Galician gastronomic products. For this purpose, 15 students from the Centro Superior de Hostelería de Galicia (CSHG) participated, accompanied by two teachers. There were commented tastings of the five denominations of origin vitivinícolas, an exhibition of Galician Craftsmanship, as well as a live exhibition of palilleiras de Encaje de Camariñas.