Cruise tourism calling at the Port of Valencia is an opportunity to diversify the inland municipalities of the province of Valencia through unique experiences and excursions. The Port Authority of Valencia (PAV), the València Provincial Council and Visit València are working together to bring the possibilities offered by the cruise industry to these towns to boost their activity. An action that the Diputación de València and Valenciaport have highlighted at the FITUR International Tourism Fair that is being held these days in Madrid.
The director of the Valencia Provincial Council’s Tourism Service, Xavi Pascual, explained that “this type of action is fundamental for configuring a tourism offer that can reach the cruise industry, providing agents and technicians with the necessary tools to achieve this goal”. For Xavi Pascual, “the strategy drawn up between the Provincial Council, PAV and Visit València, aims to increase the tourist offer of cruise ships that stopover in the city of Valencia and, with this, derive a flow of visitors to other areas and enclaves of the province”.
To this end, they are already working on a third session of this training forum for the spring, in which new actors will participate in order to increase the access of new municipalities and companies to the tourist offer for cruise passengers who call at the Port of Valencia. These two sessions have already been attended by 50 people, including municipal technicians and agents from towns such as Gandia, Riba-Roja, Manises, Calles and Buñol, among others.
The result of these two sessions is beginning to bear fruit both on the part of the tourism companies and the municipalities and associations of municipalities. In fact, in some cases, new experiences and excursions have already been configured, which are being advised by the Provincial Council and Valenciaport, so that they can be incorporated into the offer of the cruise sector.
The aim of this action is to expand the tourist offer offered by the València destination 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 Port of Valencia has established itself as a destination for specialised shipping companies, both for the family public that arrives on large cruise ships, and for those aimed at premium visitors who dock at its docks on small luxury vessels. For this reason, the range of excursions on offer is expanding, adding alternatives for lovers of the outdoors, sports and hiking to the wide range of visits to the city. Unique, sustainable, safe experiences away from the crowded 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 fashionable worldwide.