Caravaca de la Cruz and the strengthening of cultural-religious tourism is a decisive bet supported by tourist data of the past years.
The Ambassador of Spain to the Holy See, Isabel Celáa; the President of the Region of Murcia, Fernando López Miras; together with the Tourism Counselor of the Embassy of Spain in Italy, Gonzalo Ceballos; the Counselor of the Presidency of the Region of Murcia, Marcos Ortuño Soto; José Francisco García, Mayor of Caravaca de la Cruz; the Bishop of the Cartagena-Murcia diocese, Monsignor José Manuel Lorca Planes; and the Director of the Spanish Tourism Office, Gonzalo Ceballos, attended the event in Rome at the Palazzo di Spagna Caravaca de la Cruz, Jubilee Year 2024.
An opportunity to illustrate to professionals in the tourism sector all the peculiarities and future objectives related to the tourist-cultural development of the city and the Region of Murcia.
Caravaca de la Cruz is a holy city of Christianity together with Santiago de Compostela, Santo Toribio de Liébana, Rome, and Jerusalem capable of seasonally adjusting the tourist offer thanks to the strong appeal of religious tourism active all year round.
The tourist offer of the Region of Murcia must adapt to the needs of tourism by offering new sensations, unique experiences, and inimitable landscapes, between culture, gastronomy, sport, and religion, declared the Councilor of the Presidency of the Region of Murcia, Marcos Ortuño Soto.
“Our goal is to reach 1 million pilgrims in the next Jubilee Year, doubling the number of pilgrims in 2017. The government is developing an investment plan of 5 million euros to make Caravaca de la Cruz a permanent pilgrimage destination for Christianity. Our aim is for the Jubilee Year 2024 to be a real success.”
“In 2019, the Region of Murcia received over 800,000 visitors who totaled 1.2 million overnight stays for a cost of 250,000 thousand euros. Cultural religious tourism will be one of the guidelines of the region’s strategic plan. The collaboration of the Spanish tourism agency in Rome is essential for the achievement of this objective.”
The Director of the Spanish Tourism Office Gonzalo Ceballos declared: “As part of the Strategic Plan for Tourism of the Region of Murcia 2022-2032, Turespaña makes available the Interactive Multimedia Center (CMI) as a fundamental tool for the promotion of all region and, more specifically, of Caravaca de la Cruz. Our CMI in Piazza di Spagna is renewed to welcome the jubilee year in collaboration with the Region of Murcia.”
In fact, a cycle of face-to-face, online, and hybrid events is also planned, dedicated to the Region of Murcia and the jubilee year of Caravaca de la Cruz and created in collaboration with Turespaña.
Monsignor Lorca Planes, bishop of the Cartagena-Murcia diocese, pointed out: “To reach Caravaca de la Cruz, one can take the different paths that have opened up in recent years. Not only from different geographical areas, but also from different moods. Love always aims at God. We will welcome you with open arms. From Rome, the Eternal City, we invite you to a time of blessing and thanksgiving.”
José Francisco García, Mayor of Caravaca de la Cruz said: “Caravaca could not be understood without the presence of the True Cross of the thirteenth century, the symbol that has marked its historical development and its cultural, religious and patrimonial identity.
“Inviting to visit the basilica sanctuary of the Most Holy and True Cross and its relic the ‘lignum crucis’ together with the rest of the points of interest found in the town, pilgrims and travelers who come to our city discover a place rich in history, with streets full of churches, convents, bell towers and stately homes that bear witness to a glorious past with epic and legendary chapters.”
