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the II Tourism Forum promoted by the Huelva Federation of Entrepreneurs (FSO) through its Tourism Business Council, has been the clear manifestation of the cohesion and projection of a sector of great weight for the economy of the province of Huelva, due to its ability to create wealth and employment and its impact on the image and reputation of the province of Huelva. The event, which was held this afternoon at the FOE headquarters, was attended by the co-chairman of the Barceló Group, Simon Pedro Barcelo, who has highlighted the opportunity that tourism represents “for millions of people as a personal, professional project, to develop; and for many more, to enjoy the trip, to get to know other cultures and other people”.
And that opportunity offered by tourism must be taken advantage of by the province of Huelva, a territory to which “the sector can contribute more than it has done historically”. Of course, the fact that Huelva, which “has everything to be a success story in Spanish and international tourism” will depend “only on what the people of Huelva, public institutions and businessmen want, in order to continue growing”.
In his conference, Barceló warned that Huelva “must differentiate itself from Andalusia and Spain, but outside our borders, it must become attached to the Spain Brand”. “Visitors should know that if they don’t know Huelva, their visit is not complete”, he added, while urging “private-public” collaboration and praising the role of the Security Corps and Forces that contribute to make our country a safe destination.
Barceló ended his speech with a piece of advice: “Don’t forget that our customers freely choose where to travel”. “They have no obligation to come to Spain or to reach Huelva, but we do have to feel happy for having their presence,” he concluded.
Before, the president of the FOE, José Luis García-Palacios Álvarez, who has inaugurated a forum that has had to wait three years to be held again, has made a journey through the history of tourism in the province and the influence that the initiative business, especially the Tourism Business Council of the FOE has had in its development and the implementation of large hotel chains. “Our task is not finished yet, far from it,” warned the president.
“Today, with special zeal, we want to continue to be listened to, because we want to act, defend our survival, our independence and autonomy, vindicate the common interests of the sector” that go through overcoming obstacles such as the lack of infrastructure or seasonality.
“Tourism is clearly a winning bet, but this trick forces us all to exercise even greater responsibility, a commitment to our climate, our gastronomy, our culture, our beaches or our interior, our future”, a commitment that “ultimately we have to make this present and for this they will always have the FOE on their side”, García-Palacios assured.
Precisely the president of the Tourism Business Council, Luis Arroyo, highlighted in his speech the effort being made by the entity to promote a more stable and higher quality tourism, in collaboration with the public and private fabric and from the awareness of the potential of the province as a motor of opportunity for the sector and a pole of attraction and loyalty for the visitor.
Another of the key moments of this act has been the delivery of prizes and recognitions by the Council. Thus, on the one hand, the president of the Marismas del Rocío Andalusian Cooperative, Manuel Rodríguez Gómez, has collected the award for Business Trajectory from the vice-president of the Tourism Board of the Provincial Council Modesta Romero, while the CEO of the The Rio Tinto Foundation, José Luis Bonilla Romero, received it from the first deputy mayor of Huelva, María Villadeamigo in the Entrepreneurship category.
The act kept a surprise: the recognition of the professional career of Francisco J. Del Barrio; to the association for the Spanish Confederation of Travel Agencies and, finally, to Simón Pedro Barceló, in gratitude for his collaboration in the forum. The president of the Port of Huelva, Pilar Miranda, the territorial delegate for Tourism, Teresa Herrera, and the president of the FOE, José Luis García-Palacios Álvarez, have been in charge of delivering these awards.
The initiative has also been a tangible demonstration of the support of public and private institutions -it has been sponsored by the Huelva City Council, the Provincial Tourism Board, the Huelva Port Authority, the Tourism Department of the Junta de Andalucía and the Caja Rural del Sur-, and with the strong support of the sector itself, which has filled the auditorium of the FSO.
Certification to the Tourism Forum
The event began with the delivery of the Huelva Tourism Forum certification as a sustainable event by the company Q Sostenible. To achieve this certification, the organization has complied with a series of standards, from its planning to its celebration, in order to maximize the contribution to the local economy, to the improvement of the environment and to the social duty that it is also responsible for as a committed Organization. with the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
CONSTANT ANALYSIS AND UPDATE
It should be remembered that, with these forums, the FOE intends to address throughout its successive editions a great diversity of themes and subjects related to tourism in a clear commitment to favor the activity of small, medium and large companies that are linked directly or indirectly with him in a clear commitment to work and responsibility with the socioeconomic development of the province of Huelva.
It is, therefore, a space from which to update, analyze and develop everything that has to do with our tourist reality, based on the authorized voice of qualified representatives of the most diverse areas of management (hotel chains, tour operators, , air companies, etc.) that will be the star protagonists in these events that will be held annually.
