VALENCIA, SPAIN – The Way of the Holy Grail in Europe has been distinguished with the FOTUR 2025 Tourism Award, solidifying its position as a cultural project of European scope that unites heritage, identity, tradition and territorial development. The award was presented during the FOTUR Anniversary and Tourism Awards Gala held on December 15 at the Palau Alameda in Valencia, one of the most consolidated events in the tourism and leisure sector in the Valencian Community.
The gala brought together institutional representatives, sector entities, and tourism and culture professionals in an evening emphasizing tourism as an economic, social, and cultural driver for the Valencian region. The event featured a carefully designed scenography, meeting spaces, and a dynamic program reinforcing the commemorative nature of the 50th anniversary of the Federation of Leisure and Tourism (FOTUR).
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 on behalf of The Way of the Holy Grail, along with Mr. Jesús Gimeno Peris, Secretary of the entity, and Mrs. Liubov Daniel Albariño, International Director of the project. Their presence underscored the institutional, academic, and strategic nature of an itinerary that aims to continue strengthening the cultural projection of the Valencian Community in Europe.
During the gala, presented by Maje Martínez, institutional interventions, artistic performances, and recognition moments highlighted initiatives contributing to tourism, culture, gastronomy, and creative industries. Welcoming remarks 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, emphasized the importance of a tourism model linked to cultural identity, innovation, and social cohesion.
The FOTUR 2025 Tourism Awards recognized emblematic projects including The Way of the Holy Grail in Europe, distinguished as a symbol of culture, tradition, and territorial structuring, in dialogue with other references in design, gastronomy, music, festivals, and tourism promotion. The event concluded with remarks by Víctor Pérez, president of FOTUR, who highlighted the consolidation of the gala as an essential meeting point for the sector, followed by a family photo of winners and authorities, and a networking space focusing on local products and collaboration between entities.
The celebration was supported by collaborating firms such as Coca-Cola, Bodegas Gandía, Dicoval, Heineken, and Varma, along with the Valencian company Pitiminís, responsible for the award design, and a 360º audiovisual experience providing an innovative component to the event.
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, consolidating its link with the Valencian Community as a key territory in building a shared cultural narrative on an international scale. The Way of the Holy Grail is a European cultural itinerary of 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 that 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 linking 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.
The Way of the Holy Grail is conceived 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 deseasonalisation of tourism, dynamization of rural environments, and enhancement of tangible and intangible heritage. Additionally, the itinerary has the support of an International Scientific Commission for the Study of the Holy Grail, providing academic rigor 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.
