The Centre for Tourism Studies and Research (CETUR), in collaboration with the Institute for Studies and Development of Galicia (IDEGA), both part of the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), has awarded the best undergraduate (TFG) and master's theses (TFM) in tourism at the Museum of Pilgrimages in Santiago. This initiative aims to recognise academic work conducted in Galicia that contributes to the analysis, understanding, and reflection on tourism activities, their challenges, and transformations.
In this inaugural edition, regarding the theses defended during the 2023-24 academic year, the award for the best TFG was given to Miguel Peña Ávila for his work titled ‘The potential of olive tourism in Galicia’, presented as part of the Degree in Tourism and History at the University of Vigo (UVigo). Additionally, an honourable mention was awarded to Iago Barreiro Río and Santiago Pérez Acuña for their project ‘Development and validation of a tool for evaluating social profitability in tourism projects: Application to the ‘Ourense Termal’ destination’, completed in the Degree in Business Administration at the same university.
For the 2024-2025 academic year, the award for the best TFG went to Laura Prego Rodríguez for her thesis ‘Opportunities for Blue Tourism in Arteijo: Maritime Heritage, Surfing, and Sustainability’, presented in the Degree in Tourism at the University of A Coruña (UDC). The best TFM award was given to ‘Proposal for a chatbot to disseminate the documentary heritage of the Codex Calixtinus through AI’, developed in the Master's in Digital Cultural Heritage at USC by Cristina Huertas Gómez.
The jury comprised Lucrezia Lopez, director of CETUR; Iván Meléndez Medela, director of Tourism Competitiveness in Galicia; and Xosé Manuel Cao Rey, head of the Culture, Tourism, and Language Promotion Service of the Lugo City Council, representing the Centre Council. They were joined by María Milagros Vivel Búa from the Department of Financial Economics and Accounting at USC, and María de los Ángeles Piñeiro Antelo from the Department of Geography at USC, representing the Scientific Committee of CETUR.
This initiative by CETUR and IDEGA seeks to promote and highlight academic research on tourism, fostering dialogue between universities and various stakeholders in the sector. The awards also aim to consolidate and enhance one of the research lines of the Institute, focusing on the study of tourism and its relationship with the processes of territorial, economic, and social development in Galicia. This focus reinforces the role of tourism research as a field for generating knowledge and as a tool for understanding the challenges and opportunities tourism presents for Galician development.
Following this first edition, CETUR will soon open a new call for the awards, continuing this initiative to recognise and promote research in the field of tourism. Similar to the first edition, the awards will aim to acknowledge undergraduate and master's academic work developed in Galician universities, contributing to the promotion of research talent, knowledge generation, and reflection on the challenges and opportunities of tourism in Galicia.
