A few years ago the Valencian entrepreneurial ecosystem coined the label
US tourism has grown since the beginning of 2023 to reach 118,615 overnight stays in July, which represents an increase of 19.5% compared to 2022. Likewise, the data from Visit València show how the North American presence is "increasingly more important along with the Russian and Chinese, since in the year-on-year comparison compared to 2022 they show increases of 67.8% and 62.4%, respectively”, according to the Councilor for Tourism, Paula Llobet, highlighted these days.
To do this, the sector points out that there has been intense promotional work, working with tour operators, but surely the straw that broke the camel's back came from the press: Time magazine included Valencia among the 50 best places in the world in 2022 and pointed out that "it perfectly integrates its innovative urban landscape with the natural one. The other great claim came with the proposal of the travel division of the American television channel CNN, which also cited Valencia among its favorite destinations for 2022.
The message has been getting through. In Visit València they explain that these years the communication efforts in the market have been intensifying. Vogue, Conde Nast, Expedia and Tripadvisor are platforms and publications with which they have worked. On some occasions they have closed agreements with the media, on others they have organized press trips, as happened a few months ago for the celebration of the 50 Best Restaurants gala, where the city's promotional teams worked with the Turespaña offices. In addition, on the international press trip there were journalists from the US.
The combo is, they defend, in the attractiveness that the "Mediterranean lifestyle" gives off and in the good impact of the news of rankings and recognitions -Capital of Design, European Green Capital...-, since they have contributed to the knowledge of the city and its international positioning that, from the local government, they do not want to lose sight of in this new stage. Quite the opposite.
To increase the key figures is the air connection between Valencia and the United States, a direct flight that connected with New York and that came into operation a few years ago. Today the mayor Paula Llobet is meeting with the director of the Valencia Airport, Antonio García, and on the table there is surely the possibility that Valencia can once again connect directly with the US.
It is a possibility that has been being explored for some time: the former regional Secretary of Tourism, Francesc Colomer, has already worked in this line and the new minister of the sector, Nuria Montes, is now exploring that option, without renouncing that, in addition to Manises, Alicante airport is also a recipient of said international flights.
With the claim that Valencia is an incipient cruise city, connectivity is being activated through the Chambers of Commerce. At the end of July, the Minister of Innovation and the president of the Valencia Chamber, José Vicente Morata, met with a delegation from the airline Delta Air Lines to analyze the possibility of establishing a direct flight and although there are no deadlines, Montes did affirm that Valencia, as the airport of entry, meets "all the conditions" for airlines to plan "especially in the medium term, for the year 2024, a direct connection with an American hub to Valencia directly".
Along these lines, the Ministry is already working on promotional actions for the second semester and at the end of November there will be a familiarization trip aimed at managers of the American tour operator specializing in gastronomy trips 'Tour the Forks', to learn about the destination and the offer and assess the "high possibilities" of operating in the Valencian Community. But not only do you want to sell in North America, Asians are also emerging customers, which is why, in collaboration with Turespaña, there will be an upcoming similar trip aimed at seven South Korean tour operators specializing in premium tourism, who will visit Catalonia and the Valencian Community .
