| Image: PCL |
Valencia’s regional tourist board has appointed its first
tourism minister to help promote the diversity of attractions on
offer.
In the hot seat is Milagrosa Martinez, who said: “Our main
aim is to position Valencia as a leading destination different from
its competitors.
“Our new tourism policy will introduce some fresh approaches
based on diversity, quality improvement, innovation, the use of new
technology and an intense advertising and marketing campaign, as
well as continuing with tried and tested initiatives.”
She said while beach holidays continue to be the region’s
main source of tourism, Valencia is aiming to maximise the
potential of rapidly developing visitor trends such as cultural
city breaks, business tourism, health and golf, nautical and cruise
tourism, and in particular rural and non-coastal tourism.
The Valencia Region Tourist Board recently created an office to
focus on rural tourism and has stepped up its promotional
activities, with a budget of £7 million set aside for
participation in trade and consumer fairs and other events. Its
total budget this year is £10 million.
It is also launching a dedicated information service for the UK
travel trade and planning various roadshows in British cities as
well as fam trips for travel agents.
The UK is the main source of foreign visitors to the region, with
nearly 2.5 million tourists drawn each year to resorts on the Costa
Blanca and Costa del Azahar – the Orange Blossom Coast
– along with its cities of Valencia, Alicante and
Castellón.
Valencia has the biggest growth in tourism of any European city
within the past 10 years, with a 169% increase in visitors, five
times greater than the European average, according to a study by
the European Cities Tourism Association.
Last year, the city attracted more than one million tourists, a
3.5% increase on the previous year, with a 2.9% rise in overnight
stays, according to figures from Spain’s National Statistics
Institute.
Opening later this year, the Palau de les Arts Opera House will add
to the city’s pull for culture vultures. Meanwhile, the
city’s seafront area is being redeveloped in time to stage
the Americas Cup in 2007.
Valencia is also hoping to become a more popular short-break
destination with the increased number of direct flights from
various UK airports, including the arrival of EasyJet from Stansted
and Bristol last November. This month sees EasyJet operating from
Gatwick and Jet2 from Manchester.
