The mayor, Ana Isabel Jiménez, highlights Alcalá's tourism potential at the World Tourism Day Gala, which brings together a thousand people and presents the III Excellence Awards.
The Riberas del Guadaíra Auditorium in Alcalá de Guadaíra hosted this Friday the World Tourism Day Gala of the province of Seville, an event that gathered a thousand attendees and where the III Tourism Excellence Awards of the Province of Seville were presented. The mayor, Ana Isabel Jiménez, welcomed the guests and took the opportunity to advocate for the sector's role in the future of municipalities.
Jiménez emphasized that tourism is "a tool for growth" and highlighted "the great potential of Alcalá due to its rich historical, natural, and cultural heritage." The mayor thanked the Diputación de Sevilla for choosing the city as the venue: "It is an honour to host this wonderful showcase."
"Tourism is set to be one of the major levers for transformation in our province. We have heritage, natural spaces, traditions, festivals, gastronomy, craftsmanship, and active tourism, and this diversity allows for longer stays for visitors and distributes benefits throughout the territory."
At the event, presided over by the president of the Diputación, Javier Fernández, and the vice president of Prodetur, Rodrigo Rodríguez Hans, the achievements of seven professionals in the sector were recognized. Fernández highlighted the efforts of "the people who give their lives, who strive, who sacrifice to build future projects" and recalled that in 2025, 1.8 million overnight stays were recorded in the province, a figure that is on track for a record this year after surpassing one million in the first half of 2026. He also mentioned the Más Sevilla Turístico Plan, which has already allocated 30 million euros to 65 municipalities.
Rodríguez Hans emphasized the gala's close-knit character: "Such an event is celebrated in few places, from the people, from the individuals." For the vice president of Prodetur, the awardees are "the true ambassadors of the province, who show every corner to those who arrive."
The awardees in this edition were Manuel Gutiérrez Gutiérrez, for his defence of labour rights in hospitality; Manuel Antonio García Maqueda, founder of the GM Hotel in Marchena; Silvia Carretero Arteaga, waiter at the Los Lebreros Hotel; Paula Moreno Robledo, director of the Municipal Tourism Office of Carmona; Pedro González Nogueras, owner of the Goya Hotel; Damiana Pitzalis, official tourism guide at Naturanda; and María Isabel Amaya Romero, from the Agricultural Cooperative Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles de Montellano, for her commitment to olive tourism.
The gala, hosted by Carmen Canivell and Ken Appledorn, featured performances by the Banda Nuestra Señora del Águila of Alcalá and the Sevillian singer Alejandro Astola, who premiered a song composed for the occasion. Institutional, business, and cultural representatives from across the province attended the event.
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