In a presentation the president of the Associação Ibérica Turismo do Interior (AITI), Miguel Martins, summarised the main objective of the meeting that will take place in the Spanish city in the Extremadura region.
The Spanish official highlighted that, although the two countries on the Iberian Peninsula share territory, this in itself means nothing if there is no development project.
Also present at the presentation, the general director of Tourism of Estremadura, Jesús Viñuales, highlighted the creation “of a joint destination, which is A Raia”.
For the vice-president of Turismo Centro de Portugal, Anabela Freitas, the more than 1,200 kilometers of lane between Portugal and Spain are nothing more than an administrative border. “It’s much more that unites us than separates us”, she highlighted.
The person responsible for Turismo Centro highlighted how one of the challenges of tourism in the interior is the coordination between the various entities with tourism competencies, such as, for example, Intermunicipal Communities, which receive European funds and want to enter this sector.
In these cases, highlighted Anabela Freitas, sometimes publicizing the territorial brand is confused with tourist promotion.
Thus, one of the objectives of the meeting in Cáceres is precisely to strengthen cooperation between public and private entities.
“Private companies have to make their way, but before spending thousands of euros on a project, ask us what we think”, pointed out the president of AITI.
The congress has two guest destinations – Itabira (Castelo Branco) and Cáceres, and has the participation of 35 universities and 29 exhibitors.
During the meeting, a tourist product that brings together the two regions will be presented, related to the television series Game of Thrones, filmed in the Portuguese village of Monsanto and in various locations in Spain.
The congress will also be attended by the general director of Flixbus for Portugal and Spain, Pablo Pastega, to address one of the highlighted topics, which is mobility.
According to AITI, the objective is to achieve a passenger road connection between Castelo Branco and Cáceres, at least twice a week.