Positive, creative thinking

The only way to lift yourself out of a crisis situation is to apply “positive, creative thinking”. With the virtual collapse of the construction industry in Spain people are having to broaden their horizons to find new employment opportunities. They are out there, they just need to be explored.

Fortunately in Bigastro, help is at hand in the form of various courses which are aimed at retraining people in areas of employment that may be open to them.

The mayor, Raúl Valerio Medina recently presented thirteen students who have just completed a 304 hour course for Tourism Development Officers with their certificates at the Auditorium.

The course, which was funded by the European Social Fund, covered many aspects of tourism including recognizing, detecting and investigating in a particular area the resources and tourism opportunities, cataloguing, defining the demand, the characteristics and needs, analysing projects and their impact ; carrying out marketing plans for products, routes and schedules.

The course wasn’t just theoretical; the students focussed on four municipalities and participated in various activities related to trade fairs held in the area. In Benejuzar they developed a plan to help restaurants, in Los Montesinos they developed a cultural route and in Redován they worked on a tourist information brochure. The group also worked on a municipal project called “Casa de Riego” and made proposals about various workshops for children.

This part of the Vega Baja is just waking up to the idea that tourism could provide a vital source of income as it does for example in Torrevieja and in Orihuela. There is no doubt that there are a lot of opportunities for tourism out there just waiting to be tapped into, all that is required is the creative thinking that these newly qualified people should be able to provide.

It is heartening to read that Bigastro is not just sitting back and moaning that nothing can be done, the town is getting out there trying hard to find ways out of the economic depression. This is only one of many examples of ways that Bigastro is helping to ease the problems in the labour market.

Good luck to the students, I hope that the future proves rosy for them.