Fitur

The province was broadly represented in Madrid with the participation of both the Pontevedra Provincial Council and the Mancomunidad del Salnés or Baiona, which will preside over the entity Villas Marineras for two years.

Both the Xunta and the Council of Vigo took the Cíes Islands and, by extension, the Parque das Illas Atlánticas to the International Tourism Fair as one of the great tourist gems that the destination Galicia has. With more than 8,400 hectares integrated by four archipelagos with exceptional natural and cultural value, the because it has a great landscape richness, as well as diversity of marine ecosystems. The candidature presented by the Xunta de Galicia for the park to be recognized as a World Heritage Site by Unesco is already on the national indicative list, the mandatory preliminary step to elevate it to Unesco. With the inclusion of Illas Atlánticas, Spain would have four world heritage nature parks: Doñana (Andalusia) and Garajonay and Teide (Canary Islands).

For its part, the Council of Vigo also focused its presentation on Fitur in the Cíes Islands. With the motto “Patrimonio Illas Cíes, tu apoyo vale un mundo”, Mayor Abel Caballero and presenter Carlota Corredora reviewed the history and significance of the archipelago in their “unstoppable” race to enter the prestigious list of Unesco, both to gain popular support and scientific support for this candidacy.

Pontevedra Provincial Council, heritage and camellias
The Provincial Council, for its part, presented in Madrid a campaign focusing on the cultural heritage of the province and the figure of María Vinyals. “If in 2016 contemporary architecture was the protagonist and in 2017 the Portuguese way, this year our heritage is the protagonist, with the added value of 2018 being declared the European Year of Cultural Heritage”, commented President Carmela Silva, who highlighted the occupation data over the last twelve months and the explosion of the Portuguese Way along the coast. “One of every five pilgrims to Santiago chooses the itinerary that crosses the province from south to north,”he says. The presentation did not lack the videos of support, focused on heritage, wine and camellia as the guiding threads of the tourist attractions of the province.

Baiona, anniversary and presidency

On the stand of Fitur, in addition to the presentation of the initiative of the Mancomunidad del Salnés that bets on tourism 4.0, there was also an important representation of Baiona, which this year celebrates the 525th anniversary of the arrival of the caravel Pinta to Baiona. This year, the municipality also assumes the presidency of Villas Marineras, which includes coastal towns in the north such as Sanxenxo, Ribadesella, Santoña, Llanes, San Vicente de la Barquera and Laredo. During the next two years, the town will assume the reins of this entity. “We hope to give more impetus to the relationship that unites us,”said the mayor.