Icod de los Vinos It is the first municipality in the Canary Islands to enter the network of Magical Towns of Spain and the first in the country to be integrated into the Spanish Wine Tourism Association (AEE), two collectives with which the City Council of ICD intends to open new lines of work to improve tourism promotion and development in the town. For the mayor of icodense, Francis Gonzalez, integration in these networks, formed respectively by 112 towns and more than 300 companies and entities, is “an opportunity to better position ourselves as a destination.”
Francis Gonzalez recognizes that “these agreements generate enthusiasm and encourage us to continue working even more in new lines of collaboration” that will already be an evidence in the next edition of the Madrid International Tourism Fair (Fitur), in January 2022, in which Icod de los Vinos will be actively present together with 61 of the 112 Magic Towns of Spain.
The municipality wants to vindicate its importance in the tourist context of Tenerife and the Canary Islands, and leave behind the times in which it is promoted to Tenerife and the Canary Islands “Without making any reference to the ancient dragon tree or the Cueva del Viento, or to the fact that Icod de los Vinos is the municipality of the islands with the most living traditions,” points out Francis González. «Magical Towns of Spain It puts us in value and underlines that Icod is a town of peoples, “he adds.
The president of the Spanish Wine Tourism Association and the World Wine Tourism Organization, Jose Antonio Vidal, highlights the importance that Icod de los Vinos has become the first Spanish municipality to join this group, where there are already some 300 companies and entities throughout the country. «With Icod and his last name, which we want to make known throughout the country and the world, we are entering a new stage in which we want to incorporate municipal entities to continue advancing in the implementation and development of wine tourism.
The northern town opens new lines of collaboration with these two national entities
The director of initiatives of Magic Towns of Spain, Francisco J. Martin, details that this entity was promoted by the Institute of Local Development and Social Studies, a national non-profit organization founded in 1997, which aims to help municipalities “to value their local resources by promoting local tourism development in a sustainable way.” To grant this certification, they analyze each territory in ten areas of work that include quality of life, urban planning, heritage, festivals and traditions, gastronomy and local products, landscapes, nature and “other intangibles that make some towns unique.”
The inclusion of a people in the Network of Magical Towns of Spain gives access to “the multiple promotion and territorial development services that this entity offers and to the use of the registered trademark and logo of Pueblos Mágicos de España, as a mark of quality and uniqueness.” Icod could soon count on the signage that receives visitors with this new recognition that towns such as Chipiona already enjoy, Utrera, Trevélez, Jerez de los Caballeros, Belmonte, Molina de Aragón, Penafiel, Toro, Cepeda, Borja, Belchite, Viana, Elciego, Quotation marks, Cangas de Onís, Cambados, Ribadavia or Combarro, among others 112.
For Francisco J. Martín, «an image of Icod de los Vinos, with the dragon tree and the Teide, is the definition of the Canary Islands. Almost anyone on the peninsula could say with that image that this place is in the Canary Islands, and that should be better used in the future. Furthermore, even without the dragon tree and without Mount Teide, Icod would continue to be a magical town ».
Jose Antonio Vidal He adds that PREPA conceives wine tourism as “agrotourism in a wine destination”, so that the range of collaborations that opens goes beyond the wine sector. This entity also works on the professionalization of the sector, hand in hand with entrepreneurs who combine tourism and wine, and organizes training programs, congresses, seminars and routes.
Vidal highlights that Icod de los Vinos It has a surname that evokes the winemaking tradition, but “also gastronomy, serenity and rest”, so it is committed to making it “the benchmark brand.” Francisco J. Martin He was in Icod 25 years ago and, on his second visit, he highlights “the peace and serenity” that is breathed in this municipality, “and the great welcome it offers thanks to its climate and its people. It is a very nice place that you don’t want to leave. It is very comfortable here. All this, together with gastronomy and heritage, must be serenely valued, fleeing from overcrowding ”.
Francis Gonzalez recognizes that among the projects you need to develop Icod de los Vinos To improve its tourist positioning there is the opening of an emblematic hotel, and it adds that “we public institutions are here to remove obstacles and make things happen. These two associations can be a guide, a beacon that can help us in a time as complicated as the present one.
