The Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) is to train technicians from municipalities in the Valencian counties to adapt the tourist offer to the needs of cruise passengers
Experiential and active tourism, unique landscapes and natural parks, multi-adventure, healthy routes and gastronomic and cultural practices will be promoted
Valenciaport presented this initiative at the sector’s most important international fair, which is currently being held in Miami
According to the latest study, the cruise industry brings in more than 70 million euros a year to Valencia and the surrounding area
Cruise passengers coming to the province are of increasingly higher quality, lovers of Valencian culture, its wide range of excursions and a destination that is far from being saturated
València, April 27th, 2022.-The Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) and the Provincial Council of Valencia are preparing a plan to boost cruise tourism activity in the inland counties and municipalities of the province that want to attract these tourists who dock throughout the year at the docks of the Port of Valencia. The aim is for more municipalities throughout the province to add their tourism potential based on experiences, nature, sustainability, heritage and gastronomy to attract the thousands of visitors who arrive at the docks of the Port of Valencia every year.
Valenciaport has highlighted this new tourist offer of the València destination at the main world fair of the cruise sector, the Seatrade Cruise Global, which is being held these days in Miami. The Port of Valencia, which is attending with a stand together with Puertos del Estado, is showing at this event a diversified offer based on the needs of cruise passengers and shipping companies. This is a sector that each year brings more than 70 million euros to Valencia and the surrounding area, according to the latest study on the impact of this industry carried out by the Universitat Politècnica de València and the Valenciaport Foundation.
The PAV delegation, headed by the head of Cruises and Marketing, Francesca Antonelli, is explaining this new offer in the meetings held with the PAV. Thus, in addition to the wide range of urban and countryside activities, new alternatives have been added for lovers of the outdoors, sports and hiking, and more sustainable options such as bicycle and skateboarding tours. In addition, gastronomic, cultural, wine, musical or historical experiences are promoted, making Valencia a multiple and varied experience that facilitates mobility and avoids saturation of destinations.
In the Plan designed by Valenciaport and the Diputación de València, specialists from the port of Valencia are going to train technicians and economic agents from the counties and inland municipalities of the province to adapt the excursion packages for cruise passengers. Tourists are increasingly demanding more and more exclusive activities based on active and sustainable tourism, tours of unique landscapes and natural parks, multi-adventure excursions and gastronomic and cultural experiences.
The training, which will be held at the Valenciaport facilities, will include general aspects for all the municipalities, plus a part adapted to the demands and options of each municipality. An initiative that the provincial body is promoting among the localities and which has the support of the president of the Provincial Council, Toni Gaspar, who will be in charge of inaugurating these training courses which will begin in the coming weeks.
A diversified offer for a fashionable destination
The Port of Valencia has consolidated itself as a destination for specialised shipping companies, both for the family public arriving on large cruise ships, as well as those aimed at premium visitors who dock at its docks on small luxury vessels. During the operational stoppage caused by the pandemic, the PAV, in coordination with public bodies and tour operators, has worked to adapt the tours to the new normality and to the changing needs of shipping companies and cruise passengers.
For this reason, the range of excursions on offer is being extended, adding alternatives for lovers of the outdoors, sport and hiking to the wide range of visits to the city. Thus, in addition to the different options for touring the city of Valencia and discovering the museums, the Silk Route, the Fallas or the Holy Grail, the City of Arts and Sciences, the beaches and the Albufera, there are also excursions to towns such as Sagunto, Requena, Xátiva, Alboraya, Manises, Tabernes Blanques, Meliana or Vall d’Uixó, among others.
These excursions are based on unique, sustainable and safe experiences, far from overcrowded places and designed for cruise passengers to live them intensely and to remain in their memories so that they return to visit a tourist destination that is in fashion worldwide, as has been accredited by various media and international studies.
A highly valued medium-sized destination
The city of Valencia is a medium-sized and sustainable cruise destination, with annual growth of 2%. In 2019, the port of Valencia received 203 cruise calls and 435,000 cruise passengers. According to the study carried out by the UPV, the expenditure associated with cruise activity has resulted in a total economic impact on the economy of the city of Valencia and its surroundings of approximately 71 M€ in terms of production. Each cruise passenger who disembarked at the Port of Valencia spent an average of 146.5 euros.
Cruise passengers visiting the province of Valencia are lovers of gastronomy, crafts, the environment and the singularities of Valencian life; preferences that they find in the Valencian Community, far from any kind of saturation, as is already the case in some destinations.
The figures in the report show that most visitors come from Europe: 19.3% from Italy, 19% from Germany, 17.9% from England and 10.6% from France. Among the countries outside the old continent, 10.2% of tourists came from the United States.
The average length of stay of these visitors in Valencia is 4.1 hours for cruise passengers who have booked an excursion and 4.7 hours for those who disembark without a guided tour from the ship. The average cruise tourist who stops in Valencia is 52 years old. By age group, 37.9% are over 60 years old, 33.2% are between 41 and 60 years old, 15.4% are between 21 and 40 years old, and 13.6% are under 20 years old. In terms of gender, 52.4% are women and 47.4% men.