As every year and as every January, Fitur returns , the International Tourism Fair held at the Ifema fairgrounds in Madrid. On Wednesday January 19 will open the curtain on this event that we can enjoy until Sunday January 23. Galicia, of course, will be present, showing all its tourist potential and, of course, with the Camino de Santiago as the main protagonist.
The great value of Galicia, and of all
Three words: Camino de Santiago. With great pride and passion, Galicia will be present at Fitur carrying the Camino de Santiago by flag, a value and tourist asset of great importance for the autonomous community, as well as for others. Moreover, in an extended Jacobean year 2022 that, after a 2021 of recovery due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, with about 180,000 compostelas issued, is expected to be a new year of record in influx of pilgrims, as it had been until 2019.
On Monday, January 10, the manager of the Galician Tourism Agency, Emilio de la Iglesia, presented the proposal of Galicia as a tourist destination and, in particular, emphasizing the Camino de Santiago. At the presentation, held at the Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones de Galicia in Santiago de Compostela, de la Iglesia highlighted Galicia’s leadership in the national tourism recovery, ranking well above the average. In this 42nd edition of the fair, Galicia will insist that it is a safe tourist destination, as it did in 2021 and, in the words of de la Iglesia, “it will do so again in 2022”.
However, not only Galicia will celebrate the Camino de Santiago in Fitur, but other autonomous communities where it runs, such as Castilla y León or Navarra, will also have exhibition spaces in which they will show the passage of the Camino de Santiago through their lands.
As always, a great booth
Whenever we talk about Fitur, the stands where the exhibitors are located always get a lot of attention, being always very impressive those of the different participating countries and regions. In the case of Galicia, each year it is surpassing itself with spaces that cause a sensation, even receiving awards at the event itself, as happened in the 2018 edition.
This year Galicia will be presented in a space of more than 1,000 square meters, a stand, the 9C09, with a colorful and modern design, where we can learn more about the tourism products of Galicia but in which the main protagonist will be the Camino de Santiago. In addition, different co-exhibitors will also have a place in this large container: geodestinations, city councils, county councils, institutions and others.
The Way of St. James in 1,000 square meters
The Camino de Santiago is much bigger than that, but it is more than enough space to show all the good that the Jacobean routes, with their gaze always set on Galicia, offer to the pilgrim. To begin with, visitors to the fair will be able to admire a life-size botafumeiro made by goldsmiths in silver more than 60 years ago, which will also form part of an installation that will play with mirrors, as a symbol of the various and diverse faces of Galicia as a tourist destination.
“We are going to Fitur with the message that Galicia is fashionable with a quality offer that is what tourists demand after the pandemic,” insists de la Iglesia.
Galicia, with the Camino de Santiago, is “a tourist oasis in the open air”, as stated by de la Iglesia, a safe place to enjoy the Galician tourist attractions, thanks to “the responsibility and sentiment of the professionals, our visitors and Galician society as a whole”.
The Camino de Santiago offers an active and very healthy tourism, both physically and psychologically, as stated in a recent study. In addition, culture, nature, adventure, gastronomy and, best of all, all the pilgrims and people of the Camino de Santiago, are present in all the Jacobean routes, and with this Galicia aims to seduce the pilgrim and tourist and continue to grow in terms of tourism.
We have never wanted to walk so much
With this and other statements, the promotional video that Galicia shows on the official website of Fitur tries to encourage us, in a clear reference to the strange times we are living in. Galicia was, is and will continue to be a safe and open destination for national and international tourism in this Holy Year and in its Xacobeo 2022. Fitur aims to showcase the fusion of the The“traditional values of the Galician tourist offer with the image of a new Galicia in constant transformation, with the Way of St. James as the central axis”.
We are still eager to walk, and we will also walk the aisles of Fitur to learn more about the Camino de Santiago.
This 2022, walk to Galicia!
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