The cross-border project 'Raia Termal' is a program to promote tourism around a protected natural asset in the region: the fresh water, that the City Council of Terras de Bouro will present later this month.
Considered ‘blue gold’ by UNESCO, fresh water is the focus of a new tourist offer developed under the Raia Termal cross-border plan, involving the municipalities of Terras de Bouro, Melgaço and Ourense.
In the heart of the Peneda-Gerês National Park, the Municipality of Terras de Bouro will present this month the new tourist product through a series of actions, among which a ‘fam trip’ with operators and travel agents and a webinar to be held the next day 09 June which will be attended by the Secretary of State for Tourism, Rita Marques, of the President of Tourism of Porto and North of Portugal, Luis Pedro Martins, and economic agents in the region.
– Inserted in the Raia Termal valorization project, the municipality of Terras de Bouro will bet on promoting, protection and conservation of the natural spaces that are part of Gerês, in close connection with the Ourense region, nominates the mayor in a statement.
Still according to Manuel Tibo, we intend to highlight the unique thermal resources of the region and all other valences, like the waterfalls, lakes and river beaches, promoting quality and excellent tourism and contributing to the development of the local economy.
– Despite the fact that the thermal activity has been based for many years on the distinctive characteristics conferred by the waters and therapeutic activities, the fact is that the evolution of the concept itself due to the new requirements of the markets and societies has led to a reformulation of objectives and the offer that is now positioned in the dimension of health and well-being, based on concepts such as prevention and rehabilitation, and associated with new leisure and tourism habits that value experiences. It is in this sense that the new tourist offer is being prepared, highlights the mayor in the same document.
Focused on revitalizing the region's economy and sustainability, and anchored in tourism, the project developed by the municipality of Terras de Bouro designed an offer based on fresh water, abundant resource in the region, fortune so much more important when you know that, according to UN data, is a scarce commodity for two billion people worldwide.
The Homem and Cávado rivers with their water mirrors in the immensity of the Vilarinho da Furna reservoirs, with its historic submerged village and freshwater courses in Mata da Albergaria, and the Caniçada reservoir with the Arado and Fecha de Barjas waterfalls, better known as Tahiti and the thermal waters in the village of Gerês, project this geography as a source of various leisure nutrients, of tranquility and relaxation, to sport and adventure, in this case in activities that stand out the walks in the Geira Romana or the nautical sports.
The Raia Termal project ‘Development of the Galician-Portuguese border thermal tourism destination through the enhancement of natural thermal spaces, the management and joint marketing of the destination ’is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (FEATHER) through the Interreg V-A Spain Portugal Program (POCTEP) 2014-2020. It falls under priority number three on sustainable growth through cross-border cooperation for risk prevention and better management of natural resources.
This initiative aims to value natural thermal resources and jointly structure management and marketing initiatives to create a single border thermal destination and thus contribute to the development of thermalism and favor quality tourism in the cross-border area between Galicia and the North of Portugal, which will come out strengthened as a dynamic element of the economy of this region.
