SERGAS

This morning, the Galician Tourism Cluster held a meeting with the Regional Ministry of Culture and Tourism and SERGAS to learn about the advances in protocols and management of the coronavirus crisis

During the meeting, a message of absolute tranquillity has been transmitted to the Galician tourist sector

A representation of the Cluster Tourism of Galicia led by its president, Cesáreo Pardal, held this morning a meeting with the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Román Rodríguez, and the manager of the Servizo Galego de Saúde, Antonio Fernández-Campa, with the aim of knowing first hand the lines of action in which the Ministry of Health and SERGAS are working on the management of the coronavirus. The meeting was the first contact between the Xunta and the tourist sector, being this one of the sectors potentially affected by the crisis of the COVID-19.

From the Cluster, the need to maintain an open channel of direct contact between the public and private sector was transferred to the Xunta to facilitate all the information and the protocols of action in view of the expansion of the virus that, at the moment, has not arrived at Galicia. Precisely this first meeting served to inform the tourism sector of the protocols that the Ministry of Health has created for the occasion, focusing on measures of self-protection and limitation of the spread of the virus, which will be disseminated to the entire tourism sector.

Information phone number

In addition, the Xunta informed the sector of the creation of an interdepartmental commission and a helpline (900 400 116) for monitoring the coronavirus, while citizens with symptoms who have had contact with people in risk areas are instructed to call 061.

From the CTG its president, Cesáreo Pardal, emphasized the importance of launching a message of tranquillity and of putting in value the security of a destination like Galicia. “Without trivialising the disease, we must not fall into alarmism and we must continue to work with total normality”, he stated, “the tourist sector will receive the basic information on how to proceed and we will be able to offer truthful information to the traveller, thus alleviating disinformation and alarmism”.

Cesáreo Pardal, who was accompanied at the meeting by the president of the Galician Association of Travel Agencies (AGAVI) and the member of CETS, Francisco González, stressed that with a health system such as the Galician one, it is prepared to face situations of this type which, based on the lack of knowledge of how a new disease can behave, probably has a seasonal factor. “We work hand in hand with the administration, to whom we ask to convey a message of tranquillity and security of the destination”, explained the president of the Cluster Tourism of Galicia who stressed that they are aware that the crisis derived from the COVID-19 will possibly affect the tourism sector but that it is still early to evaluate this impact.