The Valencia Chamber of Commerce hosted a new training session, organised by Valenciaport and the Valencia Provincial Council, aimed at municipal technicians and tourism companies in the province.
The session explained to the attendees the channels for designing excursion packages for cruise ship tourists who disembark at the Port of Valencia.
The aim of these courses is to broaden the range of experiences for cruise tourists in the municipalities of the province
Cruise tourism has recovered its normality after the pandemic and this season returns to register usual figures in a sector that year after year shows its dynamism. Specifically, according to data from the Statistical Bulletin of the Port Authority of Valencia, between January and September, 450,000 cruise passengers arrived at the Port of Valencia, looking for a diversified offer to get to know the city and its surroundings, and more and more municipalities and companies in the province are showing their interest in cruise tourism.
For this reason, the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) and the Provincial Council of Valencia have organised the second ‘Cruise Tourism’ training course aimed at municipal technicians and tourism agents. A meeting point to expand the tourist offer offered by the destination of Valencia for cruise passengers with sustainable experiences in municipalities of the province, beyond the city of Valencia, and to work to deseasonalise cruise tourism that calls at the Port of Valencia.
The president of the Valencia Chamber of Commerce, José Vicente Morata, and the councillor for Tourism and Internationalisation of Valencia City Council, Emiliano García, inaugurated the conference. The municipal official stressed that “the cruise industry is highly professionalised and this training is essential for companies to understand the needs of the sector and to adapt to the peculiarities of this type of tourist. We have to present quality, social, environmental and local value propositions to diversify the experiences and attract cruise passengers to the offer of the city and its province”. For his part, the president of the Chamber of Commerce stressed the need to “take advantage of the success of cruise ships to expand the participation of more municipalities and companies in a dynamic and very powerful sector such as the tourism industry”.
Next, the head of Marketing and Cruises of the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV), Francesca Antonelli, gave an introduction to the cruise industry. Antonelli explained that Valencia is a medium-sized cruise destination that has established itself as a place for specialised shipping companies, both for the family public that arrives on large cruise ships, as well as those aimed at premium visitors who dock at its docks on small luxury vessels. Valencia offers a varied package of excursions based on sustainable, safe, non-seasonal experiences adapted to the needs of cruise passengers. Antonelli told the attendees to take advantage of the cruise sector as a profitable line of business and adaptable to their company or municipality.
At the event, the head of Cruise Promotion at Visit Valencia, Máximo Caletrio, explained the range of excursions available in Valencia and the promotional channels. In addition, together with Antonelli, they informed the attendees about the companies and institutions involved in the management and operation of cruises in Valencia, and listed the actors in the value chain of cruises.
For his part, Jordi Guiol from BC Tours offered a session dedicated to finding out how to prepare an offer of excursions for cruises, where to start, what to take into account and what the promotional channels are.
Xavi Pasqual, director of the Patronat Provincial de Turisme de la Diputació de València was in charge of closing the second edition of this conference.