The Way of the Holy Grail Receives FOTUR 2025 Tourism Award as European Cultural Benchmark

The Way of the Holy Grail in Europe was distinguished with the FOTUR 2025 Tourism Award during a gala at the Palau Alameda in Valencia on December 15, consolidating its position as a cultural project of European scope that unites heritage, identity, tradition, and territorial development. This recognition occurred during the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Federation of Leisure and Tourism (FOTUR), one of the most consolidated events in the tourism and leisure sector in the Valencian Community. The award underscores the project's significance as a symbol of culture, tradition, and territorial structuring, aligning with a tourism model linked to cultural identity, innovation, and social cohesion.

The gala brought together institutional representatives, sector entities, and tourism and culture professionals, emphasizing tourism as an economic, social, and cultural engine for the region. Dr. Ana Mafé García, president of the cultural itinerary and an international reference in the scientific study of the Holy Chalice of the Cathedral of Valencia, attended alongside Mr. Jesús Gimeno Peris, Secretary of the entity, and Mrs. Liubov Daniel Albariño, International Director of the project. Their presence highlighted the institutional, academic, and strategic nature of an itinerary that aims to strengthen the cultural projection of the Valencian Community in Europe. Welcoming words from María de los Llanos Massó Linares, president of Les Corts Valencianes, and Marian Cano, Minister of Innovation, Industry, Trade and Tourism of the Generalitat Valenciana, reinforced the importance of such initiatives.

The Way of the Grail is a European cultural itinerary of a historical, patrimonial, and spiritual nature that highlights the documented and symbolic route of the Holy Chalice guarded in the Cathedral of Valencia, traditionally identified with the Holy Grail of the Christian tradition. It is a long-term cultural and touristic project, promoted by the Valencian Community, which connects territories, cities, and landscapes of the Mediterranean basin and Europe through a common story based on history, culture, spirituality, art, and knowledge. The itinerary integrates historical routes that link the Middle East, Italy, France, and Spain, with special prominence of Aragon and Valencia, key territories in the arrival and custody of the Holy Chalice. More information on the project can be found at https://www.thewayoftheholygrail.com.

This award matters because it positions The Way of the Holy Grail as a tool for territorial structuring and sustainable development, aligned with European values of cultural cooperation, intercultural dialogue, peace, and social cohesion. Through cultural, educational, academic, and tourist actions, the project contributes to the deseasonalisation of tourism, the dynamization of rural environments, and the enhancement of tangible and intangible heritage. This has implications for local economies, as it can boost tourism year-round and support rural communities, while fostering a shared cultural narrative on an international scale. The itinerary also has the support of an International Scientific Commission for the Study of the Holy Grail, which provides academic rigour to the historical and symbolic narrative, and works for the certification of the European Cultural Route of the Council of Europe, placing Valencia and the Valencian Community as international benchmarks in cultural, spiritual, and knowledge tourism.

The event concluded with an intervention by Víctor Pérez, president of FOTUR, who highlighted the consolidation of the gala as an essential meeting point for the sector. The celebration was supported by collaborating firms such as Coca-Cola, Bodegas Gandía, Dicoval, Heineken, and Varma, with participation from the Valencian company Pitiminís, responsible for the design of the awards. With this recognition, The Way of the Holy Grail in Europe reinforces its role as a strategic cultural project, aligned with the values of sustainability, European identity, and heritage enhancement, and consolidates its link with the Valencian Community as a key territory in building a shared cultural narrative internationally.