The International Federation of Associations of Friends of the Portuguese Way of Santiago is created

The Xunta de Galicia highlighted the importance of the new Federación Internacional de Asociaciones del Camino Portugués de Santiago (International Federation of Associations for the Portuguese Camino de Santiago), for the creation of which the foundations were laid today, with an agreement signed by different associations at a ceremony held at the Parador de Tui, which was attended by the director of Tourism of Galicia, Nava Castro. The implementation of this federation will strengthen the role of the associations of friends of the Portuguese Camino in Galicia as well as in the neighbouring country when it comes to working in favour of the traditional values of pilgrimages and their preservation and dissemination.

This agreement takes place in the same year that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has dedicated the main actions of the Master Plan of the Camino de Santiago to the Portuguese Camino and the Portuguese Coastal Camino, with signposting and improvement or activities of cultural dynamisation and promotion, among others. In this sense, Galicia and Portugal are working together on the European project Fazer Caminho, which aims to maximise synergies surrounding the pilgrimage route in this region. The Portuguese Camino, with more than 62,000 pilgrims, is becoming the second most travelled route with a growth of 14.5%. In turn, the Portuguese Coastal Camino has received more than 12,000 pilgrims so far this year, which is an 88% increase.