Clúster

The Vice President of the Xunta de Galicia announces that the successful initiative launched jointly with the Cluster will be continued in the coming weeks.

The tourist voucher launched by the Xunta de Galicia and the Galicia Tourism Cluster to alleviate the consequences of the covid pandemic on the tourism sector and boost its recovery was one of the tools that contributed to the community exceeding its objectives in 2021 and closing the year with a final balance of 3.5 million travellers, 8 million overnight stays and 180,000 compostelas granted (40,000 more than initially planned).

These figures and the success of the initiative, backed up by the fact that the vouchers available were sold out in just a few hours and that they were used almost entirely by the beneficiaries, is what has led to the launch of a new call for applications. The announcement was made this week by the first vice-president of the Xunta and Regional Minister of Presidency, Justice and Tourism, Alfonso Rueda, during the meeting held in Sanxenxo with representatives and associates of the Galicia Tourism Cluster to take stock of the 2021 tourist season and to advance their expectations and plans for the year that has just begun.

Rueda said that the last call for tourist vouchers was distributed through a total of 12,000 cards that allowed 98% of the budget to be used. In addition, he recalled that users spent more money than the included in the vouchers themselves, so that the positive impact for the sector was even greater. He also stressed that the initiative was concentrated in the months of lower tourist demand, so that it also contributed to the deseasonalisation of the sector. The president of the Cluster, Cesáreo Pardal, agreed on this positive balance, on the key role that the voucher played during the low season and on the importance of giving it continuity and increasing its budget.

With regard to the next call, Rueda explained that they are finalising the conditions and the way in which the new tourist voucher will be developed with the aim of presenting it in the coming weeks.