On the occasion of World Tourism Day, which was held on Friday 27th, the delegation of Cadena Ser at Costa da Morte dedicated a few minutes of its programming to the tourist activity in our geodestin, more specifically our association and its work. Below we reproduce the interview with Pablo Canosa and some of the headlines of this report by Antón Lestón in Vivindo a Costa da Morte (Living the Coast of Death).
Interview Pablo Canosa, president of the CMAT business section
Question: Has tourism on the Costa da Morte changed since the creation of the CMAT?
Answer: Of course. Great progress has been made since we relied on this tool called CMAT to channel and coordinate tourism on the Costa da Morte a little more.
Q: Was it very difficult for you to reach agreements with the municipalities?
A: A lot of barriers had to be broken. Fight a lot in different areas. But we think it was worth it to get to where we are and of course, keep improving.
Q: What is the vision for the future of CMAT? Because now you are more focused on vocational training, promotion of tourist places, sports or other activities … Is that the way that CMAT will go in the coming years?
A: In a long-term view, several lines of evolution are drawn, although the are open to change because the world of tourism is constantly evolving and we have to stay competitive over time. The vision of the future is based on the commitment to formation, the promotion, the creation of new tourism products, exploring new markets.
Q: What is already noticeable is that more and more tourists are coming to something in particular, to something they would go to before in other parts of Galicia. I talk about surfing, hiking, etc. Is this something you also noticed from the CMAT?
A: Of course, as demand grows, so does supply. For years, there were a few options for getting a surfing class, hiking or kayaking on the Costa da Morte. What was done was to put all these products into value and create demand around these products, which made new options appear. This I think is the way forward, an evolution agreed and marked by the sustainability. We have clear examples like Camiño dos Faros (The Way of the Lighthouses), which is already succeeding after several years of work, thanks to the work of the Way of the Lighthouses Association, of many volunteers and now with the support of the CMAT.
The extensive report on the CMAT also included statements from important industry profiles such as Silvia Bouzas, from the board of directors or Nava Castro, director of Tourism of Galicia. Here you can read a short summary of what was talked about:
On the history of the CMAT and its foundation
In December 2011, the Xunta de Galicia created 14 geodestinations to further delimit the areas that would benefit from grants. The Costa da Morte geodestin was framed between Laracha and Carnota and it was then when they saw the need to create an entity to reunite the business with the 17 municipalities was verified, as new Xunta regulations required a common body to boost the market. CMAT, the Costa da Morte Tourism Association, was born in 2013. Silvia Bouzas was already in that first founding directive:
Silvia Bouzas: «Neither can we compete with other geodestines in Galicia and Spain. What was the priority then for us to enter the market? Forming this entity, which is supracomarcal that covers not only the 17 municipalities, but also the companies and tourism professionals of the Costa da Morte (…) We started to fight all in the same way along that geodestin».
The work of the CMAT and its results
Anyone who has lived in the area long enough recognizes the partnership that the association has sought to claim the Costa da Morte as the perfect territory to develop the so-called sustainable tourism, demanded by government authorities.
Nava Castro, Director of Tourism of Galicia: «Since we have been working with CMAT in 2015 we realize that these actions that helped to promote, spread the Costa da Morte destination and the specialization of tourism products through active tourism, have helped the increase the amount of visitors. In fact, they have received more than 50,000 travelers so far this year and we believe it is thanks to these products like Galicia Surfing. The Costa da Morte is playing a key role in our tourism model for stream diversification. This week we saw the data of the INE reflect precisely that the number of travelers is increasing ».
It is not taken into account that our area, perhaps, needs a greater push (financial aid) than other areas to continue to bring out all the virtues that could fascinate the tourists. Nava talks about experience and maturity in the project: “They are in the medium term, because we have been working for a couple of years and when they are more mature, logically, they will have the same intensity of help as the others”.
The professionalization of the sector as an axis
Even so, it should be noted that in our geodestination are the courses that have the highest participation of all those who are promoted in the different territorial limitations. It is something to be emphasized very strongly, because in the professionalization is the final success. It is useless to have a unique natural space if people in charge of exploiting it do not know how to treat it. (…) What is clear is that with the professionalization and hard work of the CMAT, the Costa da Morte will continue to be made known worldwide, with increasing success.
In the following link you can listen to the complete excerpt from the broadcast, which starts at 43:12.
