photo by F H Mira (Flickr CC)
On November 15th -16th, representatives from 9 surfing Meccas gathered in Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain to plan a new economic surf network, which will include Ericeira, Portugal, Europe’s surfing capital.
In these times of economic crisis, the business aspect of surfing is being looked to as a source of wealth and job creation for the 9 ‘surf cities’ represented at the conference. Besides San Sebastián, the Surf City Cluster includes Arica, Chile; Durban, South Africa; Hossegor, France; Gold Coast, Australia; Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain; Newcastle, Australia; Santos, Brazil and of course our very own Ericeira, Portugal.
From the conference’s Press Release:
In addition, representatives of Fomento de San Sebastián will talk about the latest activities of the Surf City Cluster, gathering about 50 economic actors, including companies, public agencies, research centres, and universities. The cluster’s coordinated action is intended to meet the challenges of the sector, committing to technology and innovation in all business processes and to adequate training as basic tools to improve company competitiveness and sustainability.
Sounds like good news for surfing in Ericeira and for Rapture Surf Camp – Portugal.
After being recently recognized as one of only 2 official World Surfing Reserves and now as a crucial link in a chain of 9 surf cities, can Ericeira now be considered the best surfing location in the world?
That is a hard nut to crack. Better come to Portugal and see for yourself.
Read more on the new international surf network or “9 cities” in this IBT website report.
