“Abroad there is a limited view of Spanish culture. There are many authors to show the public” “The new tourism is experimental and changing. You have to know how to use new technologies and networks.”

Madrid – 17 JAN 2014 – 20:34 CET

Businesswoman Amparo Costales has been immersed for some time in a project that she defends with enthusiasm. Born in Madrid at least four decades ago (“I’m in my forties” is all the indication of age she gives to the journalist), she founded Seven Arts Tourism Club in 2008 to unite two of her passions: tourism and culture. This year, its platform is launching awards aimed at giving more visibility to the world of culture. “With them we try to foster Spanish culture and promote quality tourism. Seven men and seven women in each of the seven arts who have contributed to restructuring cultural tourism and strengthening job creation in the sector will be recognized,” he summarizes.

Its new online site, still under development, will also have a section exclusively for people with disabilities. There they will be offered tailor-made trips, which they will enjoy through the senses they master best. “I don’t think that’s ever been done before,” Costales notes.

Question. What projects is Seven Arts Tourism Club currently involved in?

Response. We are an online platform that compiles and structures all cultural tourism proposals. We are now finalizing a very innovative platform prototype. We will have a demo ready before summer. We intend to contribute to visiting regions and destinations with a different perspective: that of living experiences or taking courses that surprise users.

Q. Does the portal target foreign tourists planning a trip to Spain or the national public?

R. To both. The idea is that our portal can be acquired by companies in other countries through licenses.

Q. What feedback do you get from those who have seen your project?

R. People are loving it. There are continents or regions of the world about which little is known about their culture. We intend to be a guide for those who, for example, want to discover some part of Africa through its culture. We want to discover the artistic, cultural and natural heritage of all the regions in which we work. We start with Spain, but we do not set limits for ourselves.

Q. Do you organize thematic packages for tour operators?

R. Yes. The main European tour operators are our partners. They loved the idea because they want to showcase all kinds of packages. Perhaps sun and beach tourism is a bet that is already a little obsolete and that we have to improve, accompanying it with other types of tourism.

Q. What is the perception of Spanish culture abroad?

R. I think you have a limited vision. Not everything that is being done in Spain is being perceived. There is no tool to bring it all together. In this country there are many things to show at the author level. Of course, Picasso or Dalí ring a bell, but it is difficult for an Englishman to know any living Spanish painter… Spain, France and Italy are the cradle of European art, even today, and that must be valued.

Q. What kind of proposals will be seen in your project?

R. For example, making a route showing how you can get to write a book, from starting and documenting one to publication. This is working in France. Another idea, in this case in the mountains of Madrid, could be to teach how to cook in a traditional wood-burning stove.

P. You present yourselves as a company aimed at 21st century tourism. What are the characteristics of the sector in this century?

R. It is experimental, new, changing. We have to live new experiences, we can’t stay in the old ways. We must be able to extract the good from what was there before and communicate it well. We are entering a new era, that of communications. You have to know how to use these new technologies. We want to develop new tools using the networks. That is why we need R&D, coordinated in our case by researchers at the University of Santiago. We cannot create a new tourism model to position this country without rigor.

“Madrid must be sold in a different way”

P. Madrid has the most powerful museum offer in Spain, and yet tourism continues to fall in the capital. Is the cultural one a sufficient attraction for a trip?

R. The way of promoting the city of Madrid has to change completely. The capital has an extraordinary cultural offer, it is a small city compared to other European capitals, but with a lot of flavor. And you have to know how to transmit that. In the eighties, Madrid was a destination appreciated all over the world, with a very high positioning in Europe. The relevant authorities should sit down and review their city promotion policy. Madrid has to go to a quality, brilliant and noble cultural tourism.

Q. Do you like the Barcelona model?

R. The city of Barcelona has been able to combine very well all its urban offer with the Costa Brava and Girona. If this could be done in Madrid, for example with the mountains, we would have a much better chance of attracting good tourists.