The Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Provincial Council of Palencia and the Cervera de Pisuerga City Council have presented the IV International Ecotourism Fair, NATURCYL, which will be held from September 24 to 26 in the Palencia town of Ruesga (Cervera de Pisuerga, Palencia). The objective of this fair is to value the natural heritage of Castilla y León and the national and international destinations that will exhibit during that weekend, which has made it a benchmark in the ecotourism sector at a national level.

The Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Junta de Castilla y León Mr. Javier Ortega, has presented today in the Botanical Garden of Madrid the IV edition of the Ecotourism Fair of Castilla y León, NATURCYL, which will be held in the Palencia town of Ruesga, from September 24 to 26. The president of the Provincial Council of Palencia, Dª. angeles armisen; the mayor of Cervera de Pisuerga, Mr. Jorge Ibáñez Díaz; the second vice president and deputy delegate of the area of Education, Culture, Sports, Tourism and Promotion of the Territory of the Provincial Council of Zamora, Mr. Jesus Maria Prada, for being Zamora in this edition the Leading Destination of the year, and the director of the NATURCYL Fair, Mr. Carlos Sanchez. At the event, he was also presented to Miguel Delibes de Castro, as ambassador of the 2021 Fair.

The Minister of Tourism has highlighted that fairs such as NATURCYL «They are a clear example of one of the objectives of the Board in the tourism field, which is to convert the intense tourist development that is experiencing Castile and Leon in a factor of economic reactivation of the towns and natural spaces of the Community, promoting the tourist use of natural resources under criteria of sustainability and respect for our natural heritage. The presentation of the fair has been aimed at travel agents, the specialized press and professionals in the sector, with the aim of publicizing all the news and activities of the fair, for a correct promotion of the event at a national and international level.

In this sense, the counselor has valued the wide range of nature tourism existing in the Community, as well as the importance of this professional event from the point of view of the specialization strategy around nature tourism. A tourist use of natural resources that become a fundamental key to the economic development of the territory. Castilla y León has a huge offer of nature tourism at the regional level with more than 30 areas with different protection figures, which means approximately 800,000 hectares between National, Regional, Natural Parks, Nature Reserves, Natural Monuments and Protected Landscapes, 34 Park Houses and Theme Centers, thousands of kilometers of marked trails, 10 Biosphere Reserves and a World Geopark declared by UNESCO.

Wide program of activities

The fourth edition of NATURCYL will have a complete program of activities, open to all audiences, such as the photography contest, which this year is sponsored by the Jane Goodall Institute. In addition, the theme of the fair this year will be 'Los Bosques', from the point of view of their conservation, management and enjoyment.

The outstanding destination of this edition will be the province of Zamora, present at the fair since its inception, with the promotion of natural resources and spaces such as the Arribes del Duero and Sanabria Lake and Sierras Segundera and Porto Natural Parks, and the Villafáfila Lagoons Nature Reserve. Likewise, during the fair it will be possible to visit the exhibition: 'Miguel Delibes 100 years' and there will be a day on nature photography, with lectures and practical workshops.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is planning a familiarization trip with tour operators, specialized in nature tourism, with the aim that they get to know in situ the tourist resources and companies in Castilla y León related to nature, rural tourism , active and sports tourism, with special incidence in the rural environment and in the Palencia Mountain. In addition, within the fair, a professional meeting will take place, where travel agents will be able to contact the professionals who attend from the ecotourism sector.

Institutional coordination and public-private collaboration

Ortega has pointed out the importance of institutional coordination and public-private collaboration "that allows us to develop projects like this Ecotourism Fair NATURCYL, fruit of the work of the regional, provincial and local administration, as well as the work and participation of businessmen in the sector and from the conviction that ecotourism and the responsible and sustainable use of natural resources in Castilla y León have to champion the offer of rural and nature tourism in the Community”.