The Executive Commission of the Group of World Heritage Cities have met with the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, to work together on a plan to relaunch national tourism in the 15 Spanish World Heritage Cities, among which are Úbeda and Baeza.
A meeting that has taken place online and in which the campaign that Turespaña is organizing has been addressed, with the motto ‘Spain awaits you’.
The President of the Group and Mayor of Ibiza, Rafael Ruiz affirms that the group “has to support this recovery plan and we believe that the Unesco seal has to be a brand better known by the Spanish, since the first tourist to visit us is the national”.
During the meeting, the minister stressed that tourism “is being a priority on the government’s agenda during the COVID-19 crisis, since it is one of the sectors that most benefited from the ambitious package of measures approved to protect the business fabric and employment. “
The president of the group has transferred to the Government of Spain, on behalf of the different localities, the request for relaxation of the Budget Stability Law, since the management of cities, “from this health crisis, will be more complex.”
Among the claims that the mayors have moved, there are other measures such as “reactivating public procurement and that we can award works that we have on the table, with all the procedures stopped. It would be good to reactivate the economy if the Heritage Cities could tender works, also in the historic centers ”, explained the president of the Group.
Concern about security protocols was another of the aspects addressed at the meeting. “The Ministry is working on a series of security protocols, in collaboration with employers, unions and the Institute for Tourist Quality, so that we will have 19 security guides aimed at different groups such as hotels, restaurants or shops, among others. Obviously, in our cities the promotion of heritage, culture, commerce or gastronomy is always linked. We already know that our restaurants will have to comply with a series of rules that are a novelty for everyone “, added Rafael Ruiz.
This Wednesday another telematic meeting of the mayors and mayors of the 15 World Heritage Cities of Spain is held with the Secretary of State for Tourism, María Isabel Oliver, who also participated in Tuesday’s meeting.
The Group of World Heritage Cities of Spain, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2018, aims to act jointly in favor of the conservation, enhancement and tourism promotion of the 15 Spanish cities whose historic centers are registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List: Alcalá de Henares, Ávila, Baeza, Cáceres, Córdoba, Cuenca, Ibiza / Eivissa, Mérida, Salamanca, San Cristóbal de la Laguna, Santiago de Compostela, Segovia, Tarragona, Toledo and Úbeda.
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