Fairway opened its doors this morning, celebrating its 10th anniversary as an example of professionalisation in the sector linked to the Camino de Santiago. This perspective was shared by the authorities participating in the official opening of the event, which was attended by the director of the Galician Tourism Agency, Xosé Manuel Merelles; the deputy delegate for the Caminos de Santiago in the Provincial Council of A Coruña, Antonio Leira; the mayor of Santiago, Goretti SanmartÃn, and the three co-directors of this event, Tono Mugico (Mr Turismo Marketing en Acción), Ana Trevisani (Trevisani) and Manuel Oreiro (Viajes Viloria).
The official opening of Fairway 2025 was led by Tono Mugico, who recalled the beginnings of the event and how the three companies that organise it saw ‘the need to offer a space’ for the sector linked to the Camino de Santiago. Ten years later, the event has become a benchmark and is attracting an increasing number of collaborations.
Ana Trevisani highlighted the support that the event has received since its first edition from Turismo de Galicia, the Provincial Council of A Coruña and the City Council of Santiago, with more and more institutions joining in, and she expressed her gratitude to them for their confidence in this project: ‘Fairway is the sum of many hands and wills, with the aim of improving the Camino de Santiago and tourism in general,’ she concluded.
On these latter aspects, Manuel Oreiro highlighted the event’s ability to attract international tour operators who operate on the different Jacobean Routes and who come to Compostela with the aim of meeting with local companies, thus boosting the economic development of the sector.
For his part, Antonio Leira defined Fairway as a ‘meeting point between territories’ and compared the integrating power of the event with that of the English and Fisterra-MuxÃa routes, which run entirely through the province of A Coruña. ‘It has taken many years of work and cooperation between institutions and councils to keep alive the essence of the routes, which are much more than spiritual journeys. They are a real opportunity for the development of the region,’ he said.
The integration of different perspectives in the event was also the focus of Xosé Manuel Merelles’ speech. The director of the Galician Tourism Agency also highlighted ‘the importance of supporting the professionalisation of those involved in managing the Camino de Santiago experience’. This is an aspect to which Fairway has contributed during its decade of existence and which, since its launch, ‘has filled a need’ to provide this essential meeting point for the sector.
Goretti SanmartÃn, who closed the opening ceremony, echoed the previous perspectives, congratulating the organisation on the development of the event. She also recalled the importance of joining forces to ‘face the different challenges of the Camino de Santiago. We need to move forward in the direction of sustainability, aiming to achieve a quality tourism model that has as its unique reference point the balance between walkers and the local community,’ she concluded.
Activities for all audiences
The opening day of Fairway offers a wide range of activities for all audiences, starting at 9 a.m. with the iCamino. Throughout the morning and afternoon, there were various activities, including cheese, vermouth, pastry and liqueur tastings from the province of A Coruña (led by Jorge Guitián); show cooking with artisan food products with PDO and PGI certification (led by chef Manuel Mallón); children’s origami workshops and escape rooms.
As a new feature and to celebrate the tenth anniversary, a vermouth session was offered with Señora DJ and Gastroway Vermú & Tapas A Paisaxe que sabe, where attendees were able to taste products and dishes from companies and chefs from the province of A Coruña. This gastronomic activity allowed attendees to enjoy a full menu featuring offerings from Vermú Lodeiros y Patatas Bonilla; Cienporcel; A Conserveira; La Empanada Viajera; Chichalovers; Abella Espazo Gastronómico; Asociación Cultural da Filloa de Lestedo and Xearte Brigitte.
The Open Day will be rounded off with a concert by Xabier DÃaz. The artist returns to the event with a trio performance at 6 pm.
Prizes for visiting the fair
From today until Tuesday 11th, Fairway is hosting a Tourism and Camino Fair with more than 70 exhibitors. In addition, to celebrate its tenth anniversary, it has launched the My Camino initiative. This is a credential that attendees must have stamped -drawing a parallel with the document used during the pilgrimage- at 10 of the stands in the exhibition space. Once completed, they can participate in the draw for extraordinary prizes, which will take place every day at 6.45 pm in the presentation area. Participants must be present to collect their prizes.
The prizes are a 3-night trip to Ilha Terceira (Azores) for 2 people (courtesy of YuTravel); a stay at Caldaria Hoteles Balnearios for two people (Inorde); an experience in Caravaca de la Cruz (Murcia) for two people (Murcia Regional Tourism Board); a stay at the Beche cabins (Abegondo) for two people (Association of Municipalities of the English Way); and three sets of Galician products of exceptional quality (PDO, IXP, organic production and artisan food products).