Spain and Portugal have renewed their cross-border tourism strategy - Get updated on what's happening in tourism!

The goal is to position the Iberian Peninsula as one of the most competitive and sustainable tourist destinations in the world.

Hereu: "With the renewal of this commitment, the governments of Portugal and Spain ratify our joint commitment to the economic and social development of the cross-border territory".

The first Strategy for the Sustainability of Cross-Border Tourism was signed in 2022 and expires in November 2024.

Spain and Portugal have today renewed the Cross-Border Tourism Strategy for two more years (period 2024-2026) with the aim of strengthening innovative tourism, with sustainability at its core, and continuing to position the Iberian Peninsula as one of the most competitive tourist destinations in the world. In addition, both countries have agreed to launch an Operational Plan 2025-2027 that deepens and specifies in actions and timeframes what is foreseen in the Strategy document. The first joint tourism strategy for the La Raya region was signed in 2022 and expires in November 2024.

In the renewal of the agreement endorsed by the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, and the Portuguese Minister of Economy and the Sea, Pedro Reis, in the framework of the XXXV Spanish-Portuguese summit in Faro, the general lines of cooperation between the two countries in the field of tourism are identified: the line of triple sustainability (economic, social and environmental), competitiveness, innovation and knowledge, cohesion and accessibility. In addition, six sub-regions are identified where the sustainable strategy will be further developed: Northern Portugal-Galicia; Northern Portugal-Castilla y León; Central Portugal-Castilla y León; Central Portugal-Extremadura; Alentejo-Extremadura; and Algarve-Andalusia.

“With the renewal of this commitment, the governments of Portugal and Spain ratify our joint commitment to the economic and social development of the cross-border territory, with the collaboration of local, regional and autonomous authorities,” said Hereu. Four-pronged strategy

In order to achieve the goals set, the memorandum renewed today contemplates the following axes of intervention: a central action between the governments of Portugal and Spain, articulating both bilateral and multilateral policies and promoting the development of the joint instruments and projects necessary for the implementation of the Strategy; another regional action between the regions of Portugal and the CCAA of Spain, with actions to be developed on both sides of the border with an impact on destinations, products, human resources and external promotion; tourism sustainability plans in border destinations, particularly in the six subregions mentioned above; and the development of tourism experiences on the border, in the areas of cultural, nature, active and food and wine tourism.

Hereu stressed that “this is the first agreement of this nature that Spain has reached with another state in the field of tourism”, and said that “it is no coincidence that this milestone has been achieved precisely with Portugal, a neighboring country of great cultural and human proximity”.

Sustainability at the core

Sustainability, one of the main pillars of responsible tourism and a priority objective of the Government, is a concept indissolubly associated with the Cross-Border Tourism Strategy. This plan is committed to sustainability criteria in a triple aspect: environmental, with actions for environmental restoration or management of natural areas; territorial, which ensures the transforming impact throughout the country; and socioeconomic, promoting better quality jobs, better paid and with better performance conditions and training opportunities.

Image Credit: © Government of Spain, Ministry of industry and tourism