At the beginning of June, the Xunta de Galicia called for subsidies to obtain and/or maintain the Q mark for Quality and S for Sustainability. This help line will be available until July 6 at 11:59 p.m. Private individuals or legal entities that own tourist establishments or services, or town halls and instrumental entities that manage public services can apply for it.
To simplify the process for interested entities, the Galician Tourism Cluster, within the framework of the collaboration agreements formalized by the Galician Tourism Agency-Xunta de Galicia, makes available to tourist companies a free consulting service for the Obtaining or maintaining both badges. The aid line itself finances a part of the costs of using the brand and auditing.
Q for Quality
The Q Tourist Quality guarantee mark is a Spanish mark, recognized throughout the world, aimed at the voluntary certification of the quality of tourist services. This certifies the quality of the management, services and infrastructures of tourist organizations. A tourist organization obtains the Q for Quality when it demonstrates compliance with the technical requirements that it pronounces to its corresponding standard. The organization must implement a management system oriented to customer service and continuous improvement.
Obtaining this distinctive brings advantages externally (increasing customer satisfaction, improving the reputation of the organization, having a differentiating seal for the client) and internally (improving management, optimizing resources, motivating staff and controls the performance of the organization).
S for Sustainability
The Tourism Sustainability certification was implemented by the Institute for Spanish Tourism Quality (ICTE) to help establishments, companies and destinations in Spain in the integration of the Millennium Sustainable Development Goals. The brand is obtained when the tourism organization meets at least one of the following standards: Technical Specification for Compliance with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in tourism organizations; Standard UNE-ISO 21401:2019 Sustainability Management System for accommodation.
The implementation of this distinctive brings advantages externally (having a differentiating element of high added value, improves the image and reputation, makes visible the organization’s contribution to improving its sociocultural and environmental environment) and internally (improves the management and effectiveness of activities, optimizes resources and motivates staff).
Consulting service
There will be a consulting service and technical assistance services for the management, processing of the subsidy in the certification/maintenance processes regarding the Certification of the Q Mark for Tourism Quality during the year 2023.
For the S of Sustainability it is necessary to implement the requirements of at least one of the documents against which the Tourism Sustainability brand is obtained. Also: agree with one of the approved companies on the external audit, demonstrate compliance with the technical requirements; implement and demonstrate the improvement opportunities detected; obtain the certificate and value it, inside and outside the organization; and pass an external audit annually.
If you are interested in the process of obtaining the badges, you can receive more information by consulting the technical secretariat of the Tourism Cluster through the following email: secretariatecnica@clusterturismogalicia.com or through the number 881 24 74 36.