Since yesterday, up to 70 taxis have circulated through the city of London carrying vinyls with images of the Valencian Community: 20 of them are part of the Turisme Comunitat Valenciana campaign, the other 50 are from Visit Valencia, with the motto Valencia is now and search encourage autumn getaways to the Turia capital.
The Valencian delegation, which also has 47 companies, has come to the World Travel Market fair in London little less than "to break stone", as they say. "This is a market in which we must insist and work", said yesterday the president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Ximo Puig, during his visit to the Valencian stand located in fair pavilion 3.
The reason is that British tourism continues to be "fundamental", recalled the head of the Consell: until September, 1.7 million Britons have arrived in the Valencian Community, who have contributed 1,800 million euros. "And in all likelihood, by the end of the year there will be more than two million Britons who will have come and more than €2 billion who will have left behind," he added. The president also said that "this could be the winter of consolidation of the recovery", without forgetting that 2019 was a "record" year in visitors, which the pandemic put a stop to.
Now it's time to climb positions again, the fair's participants insist here, with their sights set on the Canary Islands (whose stand is in front of the Valencian Community), the "authentic competitor now", said Carlos Mazón, president of the Diputación de Alicante and who was also at the London fair for promotion and meetings.
To questions from the media, Mazón highlighted Alicante's leadership in the British market and boasted of Benidorm, "the world's first smart tourist destination, which practices sustainable tourism and is a worldwide example that has managed to democratize holidays, which they are a labor right”, he clarified.
Benidorm was discussed in the afternoon at the Valencian stand, after the visit of the Secretary of State for Tourism, Fernando Valdés, who announced that the city of Alicante will host next year the assembly of the Association of Advantage travel agencies, one of the the three most relevant among tour operators. "This will mean that 500 level prescribers will know Benidorm and the Community", added Francesc Colomer, regional secretary of Tourism.
"The best marketing always begins with the product and ours returns intact, even improved, after the pandemic," added Colomer. In the reinforcement of the British market, Turisme Comunitat Valenciana has already allocated 79,687 euros in promotions these days in London, an amount that is part of the 1.5 million euros of investment that Puig announced as an investment to improve "the deseasonalization of the market", because the objective is that the British visit the Valencian beaches throughout the year. “We already have flights with more than 20 cities. We are going to place this market where it belongs”, emphasized Puig.
Yesterday's session was also attended by the Councilor for Tourism, Emiliano García, and the Deputy Mayor of Valencia, Sandra Gómez, who stressed that the city of Valencia wants to increase the number of British tourists, who already account for 8% of its international visitors. "València has been working to position itself as a seasonally adjusted destination, which is why we are betting on an increase of 30,000 plane seats in the autumn-winter campaign," said Gómez.
