02/02/2011
Vitoria- Gasteiz, 2nd February 2011.- The general secretary of the World Tourism Organization, Mr. Taleb Rifai, has visited this morning the restoration project of Santa Maria Cathedral. Taleb Rifai is visiting the city of Vitoria- Gasteiz due to an appearance in the Basque Parliament, and has also visited the Santa Maria Cathedral with the Secretary of World Tourism Organization in Spain, Mr. Javier Blanco, and the executive director Mr. Marcio Favilla. In their visit to the Cathedral they have been accompanied by the director of Santa Maria Cathedral Foundation, Juan Ignacio Lasagabaster.
As he is an architect, Mr. Rifai has been very interested in the project and surprised by such a restoration of this characteristics that it is opened to the public. He showed also his interest in all the activities that organises the Santa Maria Cathedral Foundation, particularly the ones dedicated to the children.
The Cathedral received also yesterday the visit of a delegation formed by members of the Committee of Industry, Tourism and Commerce of the Senate. The group is doing an official visit to Euskadi and they did the visit to the Cathedral with the president of the Board of Santa Maria Cathedral Foundation, Mr. Xabier Aguirre.