The Ministry of Tourism of the Government of the Canary Islands presented last Tuesday "Buenamar Canarias" at the 1st Canary Islands Marine Tourism Forum, an initiative that aims to take advantage of the values of artisanal fishing as an attribute of the destination through the development, marketing and implementation of new tourism products "with greater added value".
This forum, which is co-organized by the public company Hecansa, has served for professionals in the sector, such as brotherhoods, cooperatives and fishing federations, businesses and students, to learn about similar initiatives that already have a successful track record in other parts of Spain.
As explained by the General Director of Tourism Planning and Promotion of the Government of the Canary Islands, Ciprian Rivas, the 'Buenamar Canarias' Product Club "is a strategic alliance between service providers and tourism planners with the participation of the local community, it is more than a promotion tool, it is a working method to guarantee a satisfactory experience for each person on the islands".
"In addition, we directly connect tourism activity with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Canary Islands 2030 Agenda, while recognizing the effort of hundreds of years of artisanal work and the care of the coastal environment by the sector," he adds.
It should be noted that this project had a first phase in which the key sites and actors of the Canary Islands coastline were identified through 76 interviews with protagonists of artisanal fishing from the eight islands.
However, now it will be the members of the sector, together with the public and private initiative, who will develop a product that aims to become a key element for local development and the maintenance of the activity, and that "will range from activities to learn about Canary Islands artisanal fishing on the boats themselves, to the marketing and knowledge of the local product in restaurants in the archipelago".
For her part, Teresa Berástegui, Deputy Minister of Tourism, expressed at the opening of the forum that this event is a sign of the firm commitment of the Canary Islands to change the tourism model towards one that rewards and promotes sustainable, responsible practices that result in the overall benefit and integral development of the territory and those who inhabit it".
"After the pandemic, the behaviors of those who visit us are changing, they are looking for greater contact with nature, to spend more days in the Canary Islands and to live more authentic and differentiating experiences, while their concern for environmental conservation is growing," adds Berástegui. "For this reason, we must work on what differentiates us through our identity, preserve what we are, and there is no doubt that artisanal fishing is part of that identity".
During the meeting, attendees are also discovering the potential of the union of gastronomy, fishing and pairing with other local products.
Also, there was a tasting of seafood products prepared by Daniel Pérez, chef of La Cofradía de Taliarte, together with four Hecansa alumni who today work in establishments in which the local product has a special role, such as Alberto Aparicio, from the Embarcadero restaurant; José Luis Espino; from the Bevir Restaurant; Abraham Ortega, from the Tabaiba Restaurant, and Óscar Dayas, from Mar Gastrotasca.
The "Buenamar Canarias" Product Club is part of the "Ecoáreas Mardetodos" project, a "pioneering and innovative" initiative financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which seeks to reorient the use of coastal spaces by applying a horizontal management model.
