The Chamber of Commerce of the Campo de Gibraltar has completed the change of its official name and is now called the Official Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Services and Navigation of the Bay of Algeciras. The president of the corporation, Carlos Fenoy, explained this Tuesday, July 28, to the directors of the media the business, territorial, and institutional reasons that have led the entity to adopt its new identity.
The modification was authorized by the Resolution of December 22, 2025, from the General Directorate of Commerce and the Order of April 17, 2026, from the Ministry of Employment, Business and Self-Employment of the Government of Andalusia. This last provision was published in the Official Bulletin of the Government of Andalusia number 78, of April 24, 2026.
The chamber entity officially attributes the change to "strategic and institutional reasons" and presents it as an evolution of its identity to adjust it to the economic, business, and territorial reality that it represents. It is, according to the corporation, to "reflect more faithfully the economic, business, and social reality of the territory that the Chamber represents," a reality "built by the strength of its companies, the dynamism of its municipalities, its logistical, industrial, and innovative capacity and a growing international projection that transcends any traditional delimitation."
The weight of the external agenda in that decision is central. Fenoy recalled that the Chamber carries out an intense international activity every year, articulated mainly together with Comport, with trips and missions in which the promotion of the territory is supported by the Port Bay of Algeciras as the main letter of introduction. In that circuit of sectoral fairs and meetings with port authorities and logistics operators, the region presents itself to interlocutors who identify the territories by their port brand.
It is precisely in that field where the previous name was generating misunderstandings. "We generated more confusion, especially externally and especially internationally, than certainty," summed up the president. The underlying argument, presented during the meeting, is that the designation primarily affects the international projection of the companies that the Chamber accompanies in those missions because an erroneous name can alter the perception of a business in foreign markets. This is compounded, he indicated, by the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union, which introduced another reason for confusion.
The Chamber understands that this lack of clarity did not only affect the image of the corporation, but also the companies that participated in the commercial delegations. The president has pointed out that the main objective of the change is not the international projection of the institution in itself, but that of the companies it accompanies in their internationalization processes.
The modification of its designation does not affect its organizational structure, nor its headquarters, nor its contact channels, which remain unchanged. Its territorial demarcation also does not vary, which continues to encompass the municipalities of Algeciras, Los Barrios, La Línea, San Roque, and Tarifa. The goal, according to the entity, is to gain institutional clarity and align its image with that of other organizations in the environment, such as the Metropolitan Area, the Port Authority, the University Campus, or the Customs Area, in addition to consolidating the brand Bay of Algeciras as an economic and logistical reference.
The Government of Andalusia also uses this designation in its territorial planning, where the Bay of Algeciras appears as one of the metropolitan areas of the autonomous community. The Chamber believes that using a common brand facilitates the identification of an economic space formed by the port, industrial hubs, logistical infrastructures, municipalities, and companies that develop their activities in the area.
Fenoy emphasized that the decision was not made quickly: the corporation sought the consensus of business owners from all municipalities before bringing it to the plenary. The subsequent administrative process was also not immediate: the resolution on the designation was followed by the modification of the internal regulations, with delays added due to the electoral calendar. The new brand had already begun appearing in the entity's communications and electronic correspondence, which counts nearly a hundred congratulatory messages received. The president also recalled that the historical name of the region is not in question: "We are a region that was historically called Campo de Gibraltar, there is no problem," he stated.
When asked about the situation of Castellar, Jimena, and San Martín del Tesorillo, whose municipalities have approved plenary motions regarding their membership, Fenoy responded that the matter is not forgotten, but the procedure is regulated: the business owners of that demarcation must, by majority, request their exit from the Chamber of Cádiz and their incorporation into that of the Bay of Algeciras. Part of the chamber's activity, especially that linked to European programs, is limited to the five municipalities of the demarcation, although the entity serves companies from the north.
The Chamber, created in 1909 under its previous name, groups more than twelve thousand companies. The entity has announced communication actions to convey the decision to the public and faces its 2026 agenda with the new name: innovation and entrepreneurship, the demand for infrastructure, and the special economic zone project.
