The Coastal Cruises, an initiative promoted by the Galician Association of Nautical Activities (AGAN), presented the new season of its trips in an act in which participated, among other authorities, the acting Regional Minister of Culture and Tourism, Román Rodríguez, and the president of the Cluster Tourism of Galicia, Cesáreo Pardal, as well as the mayor of Boiro, José Ramón Romero, and the president of AGAN, Manuel Soliño. They all agreed on the importance of this type of action in the process of recovery of the Galician tourism sector and in the weight of nautical tourism in Galicia, since our territory has excellent conditions for the development of this type of tourist product thanks to the Galician coastal area, the navigation possibilities of the Galician estuaries throughout the year and the quality of the infrastructures of the marinas.
Seasonal novelties
New features for this season of coastal mini-cruises, with a duration of between 1 and 7 days, include the limitation of 25 passengers per cruise as a result of the anti-COVID19 measures implemented, as well as the launch of new routes centred on the Xacobeo2021 and the Phoenician world. In this sense, the acting Regional Minister highlighted the potential of nautical tourism in the diversification of the offer and the reactivation of the sector and the need to continue betting on this type of projects, which contribute to the recovery of this industry and boost the economy of the seaside towns, by benefiting the small towns and villages where the different routes stop.
For its part, the president of AGAN, Manuel Soliño, stressed in his explanation the great impact that the pandemic has produced in the marine industry and expressed “the urgent and essential need for support to the marine industry by the Administration. He also stated that “we must consider the marine industry as a sector in the image of the French Brittany developing specific measures for both the port sector and for tourism and nautical construction supporting the structuring as an Atlantic cluster to make Galicia the great port of the Atlantic coast and the first class nautical destination.
Last year, more than 5,000 people participated in this initiative and more than 8,500 travel agencies offered this product.