balance

In addition to reporting on last year’s actions, the CTG’s highest body ratified the incorporation of eight new members.

The Cluster Tourism of Galicia celebrated with its associates its Annual General Assembly that serves to give account and to close the exercise of the last year and to expose to the maximum organ of this entity the proposal of actions and activities for the present exercise. Thus, the General Assembly unanimously approved the report of the actions carried out in 2018 and, after the presentation of the technical secretariat, also ratified the proposal of the plan of activities and budget for the current year that assuming a total of 946,500 euros, representing an increase of 7% over last year. To this figure must be added, in addition, the membership fees, since the General Assembly also approved the implementation, for the first time, of economic contributions that will have to make effective each of the entities or associations that are part of the Galician Tourism Cluster.

In this regard and as explained by the secretary of the entity, Cesar Ballesteros, “after the first years of operation of the entity we believe it is necessary to contribute to its sustainability and verify the commitment made to the CTG through quotas that have been defined according to the weight and representativeness of the members and ranging from 150 to 600 euros. In addition, the associates ratified also a quota of entry that fixed in 900 euros for the entities that request to form part of the Cluster.

Adding up representativeness

Altas that, year after year, continue to be produced, which allows the CTG to add associates and representativeness of the sector to reach the current 72 associated entities, representing more than 7000 companies in the Galician tourism sector. Eight entities from Ferrol, Santiago, Pontevedra and Ourense joined the CTG this year: Asociación Festivales de Galicia, Asociación para o Desenvolvemento do Turismo de Calidade na Comarca de Ortegal, Asociación Unión Hotelera Compostela, Asociación da Cociña Galega, Asociacion Unión de Hosteleros Ourensanos, Cociña Ourense, Gran Hotel Talaso de Sanxenxo and the Asociación de Empresarios de Hostelería de Ferrol e Comarca.

Tourist promotion and marketing actions

As for the budget that this entity will handle for this year, the largest item is allocated to the chapter of promotion and marketing of Galicia as a tourist destination, through an agreement signed with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and endowed with half a million euros. Through it the CTG will carry out actions aimed at improving the marketing of tourism products in Galicia, especially those that affect the strengthening of marketing, as well as specific promotional actions for both national and international markets, through publications and promotional material specific support to the promotion and dissemination of tourism resources; organisation and participation in fairs, congresses, exhibitions, technical conferences, meetings and seminars of a tourist nature, as well as projects to promote and improve knowledge of the offer of a marketable tourist product and the creation of a branded head tourist product, in accordance with the provisions of the Galicia 2020 Tourism Strategy, with special attention to emerging products or those aimed at target audiences (senior, millenials, family tourism)…).

As the main novelty, the budget incorporates a new agreement, pending signature with the Xunta de Galicia, for an amount of 250 thousand euros that will be used for the management and design of initiatives, the creation of innovative pilot projects and the promotion of innovative mechanisms of Galicia, mainly oriented towards the creation of product clubs and the implementation of projects or singular initiatives for the promotion or commercialization of a tourist product or that encourage the promotion of the destination in an original way, with special attention to collaborative proposals that involve international operators or that involve hybridization with cultural activities. The agreement also includes the organisation of an event for the social recognition of the tourism sector, the Galician Tourism Awards, the first edition of which will be held before the end of this year.

The approved budget is completed, in addition, with an agreement for the promotion of associationism, worth 36 thousand euros, and another for the promotion of the Q for Quality, amounting to 150 thousand euros for the president, in addition to an agreement signed with the Diputación de Pontevedra for the execution of a professional day oriented to the Galician tourism sector.