La Asociación de Ecoturismo en España (AEE) y el Ayuntamiento de Somiedo han firmado un convenio en el marco del Plan de Sostenibilidad Turística (PST) de Somiedo, cofinanciado por la Secretaría de Estado de Turismo, el Principado de Asturias y el Ayuntamiento de Somiedo, para impulsar y promocionar Somiedo como destino de ecoturismo y reforzar el tejido asociativo para que aprenda a trabajar en la promoción turística del destino de forma unificada e integrada
Tourism in Somiedo needs to reduce its seasonality and strengthen its business associations. Within the framework of the agreement, which will have the support of the Association of Hotel and Tourism Services (AHOST) of Somiedo, work will be done on the development of a series of actions aimed at ensuring that the actors involved in the tourist development of Somiedo (town council, association and manager of the natural park) work together in the work done by a tourist destination management body (the “Asociación de Hostelería y Servicios Turísticos de Somiedo”).destination management organization).
This agreement with the AEE, whose implementation will start in January 2023, will help local stakeholders learn to use the tools of the Ecotourism Club in Spain (Club) and to differentiate Somiedo as a certified ecotourism destination to attract tourists who want to enjoy its natural and cultural values throughout the year, cooperate with the tourism administration to improve national and international promotion of the destination, increase coordination with the environmental administration to ensure the minimum environmental impact of tourism activities and monitor the contribution to local development.
The actions planned to achieve these objectives include the following:
- La organización de jornadas de dinamización del sector empresarial.
- Formación de empresas para su adhesión al Club
- El diseño de un catálogo profesional de empresas adheridas para operadores internacionales especializados.
- La organización de un viaje de prospección (fam trip) y un taller de creación de experiencias con agencias receptivas.
- La elaboración de contenidos y materiales para la difusión de las empresas adheridas.
These actions will also provide continuity to the results achieved with the Somiedo PST, which is committed to the recovery of the ethnographic heritage of the destination as a basis for offering new tourist experiences based on ecotourism.
Sostenibilidad turística en Somiedo
Somiedo has been a tourist destination due to the attractiveness of its landscapes since it was declared a Natural Park in 1988. This is a unique protected area that coincides with the limits of the council of Somiedo, so the municipal management has been a demonstrative example of coordination and joint action to obtain an adequate degree of conservation of the territory compatible with the tourist activity.
In this sense, the environmental administration of the Principality of Asturias has adhered the Somiedo Special Area of Conservation, coinciding with the Natural Park, to the System of recognition of the sustainability of nature tourism in the Natura 2000 Network, which already has 18 accredited tourism companies, of which 13 are already part of the Club as members of the AHOST of Somiedo, the local management body of the Club in the destination.
About the Association of Ecotourism in Spain
The Association of Ecotourism in Spain (AEE) is a non-profit association created in 2010 to promote sustainable tourism in protected areas and composed mainly of associations of tourism entrepreneurs located in natural areas, management entities of natural areas, public administrations involved in the tourism management of these, innovation entities (universities, foundations), tourism and technological innovation companies, and tourism companies committed to conservation and local development.
AEE is the entity that manages the Ecotourism Club in Spain, one of the tourism product clubs supported by the Secretary of State for Tourism since 2010. It is a pioneering initiative that offers ecotourism experiences in protected natural areas, guaranteeing travelers their contribution to local development and biodiversity conservation. It currently groups 27 destinations and close to 700 companies that, under the SoyEcoturista brand, are committed to sustainable development. www.soyecoturista.com