Foreign tourism to the Comunidad Valenciana continues to recover with record numbers in January 2023
The Comunidad Valenciana received 480,302 foreign tourists in January 2023, which is 71% more than the same month of the previous year.
Thursday 9th March 2023
Mike Smith
The President of the Generalitat Valenciana, Ximo Puig, revealed that the month of January was “the best month in history for the arrival of foreign tourists to the Comunidad Valenciana”, consolidating the recovery of international tourism compared to before the pandemic.
He made these statements during his visit to the stand of the Comunidad Valenciana at the Internationale Tourismus Börse (ITB) in Berlin, where the region’s tourist attractions were being promoted, an event considered one of the largest tourist showcases in the world.
During the event, the president explained that from 2015 to 2019 the Comunidad Valenciana registered a continuous growth in foreign tourism that was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, he has claimed that, according to the data currently available, “the Comunidad Valenciana, together with the Canary Islands, are the two autonomous communities with the largest number of reservations for this season.”
Regarding international tourism registered January 2023, the Comunidad Valenciana received 480,302 foreign tourists, which is 71% more than the same month of the previous year. In addition, the Comunidad Valenciana is the region that has experienced the greatest recovery in the German market compared to before the pandemic, since the number of German tourists visiting the region during 2022 is 3 percentage points away from equaling the figure of 2019, compared to the 12 points for the rest of the autonomous communities in Spain.
Specifically, more than half a million German tourists (586,123) visited, representing an increase of 63.6% compared to 2021. In addition, the increase in total spending by these tourists, which reached 635.2 million euros, is also note-worthy, representing an increase of 76.2% over the previous year.
Regarding this last fact, Puig added that these figures predict that the economic benefit to the region experienced prior to the pandemic will be exceeded and, specifically, that spending during 2023 is expected to reach 800 million euros, some 26% more than in 2022.
Air Connections with Germany
This recovery has also contributed to the increase in the number of air routes between Germany and the Comunidad Valenciana, and the president has announced that during 2023, they will be expanded with eight new routes. He added that the new connection between the Castellón airport and Hannover will become a reality thanks to the agreement that will be established next quarter, and will offer two annual frequencies throughout the year.
The Comunidad Valenciana will have connections with thirteen German cities, which will allow the region to “advance in our positioning in [the German] market”. Specifically, the cities with which there will be a connection are Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen, Munich, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart, Cologne, Karlsruhe, Menningen, Dortmund and Paderborn.
Increase in Promotional Actions
The president indicated that Turisme Comunitat Valenciana will increase investment in Germany by 60% to attract new tourists, with actions in the media and establishing contacts with tour operators to “consolidate the Comunidad Valenciana as a reference for German tourism”.
The regional secretary for Tourism, Francesc Colomer, added that “it is very important that 2023 be perceived as the year of full recovery of international tourism, and specifically of the western market where Germany is located as well as the British market”. In addition, he has expressed his intention to “work with greater intensity” in other markets such as the United States and Asia.
Regarding tourism from Germany, Colomer highlighted that Turisme CV will be present at the Fair in Frankfurt and at the Berlin event to be held in May, in addition to working on 20 actions in workshops, press trips, familiarisation trips, and specialized fairs by product, in addition to having a complete online strategy.
The regional secretary said that German tourism “has an unquestionable travel culture” and, in this sense, has urged us to take advantage of this condition to “play our options, do it with market intelligence, with this growing connectivity and also taking care of respect and customer service, which is highly valued by the German target”.
Fifth Issuing Country
German tourism represents 7% of all foreign tourists arriving in the Comunidad Valenciana, and in 2022 they numbered 8.6 million. This means that this country is the fifth issuer for the Comunidad Valenciana, after the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands and Belgium.
By provinces, 52% of German tourists visit Alicante, followed by Valencia, with 43%, and Castellón, with 5%.
The visitor profile stays an average of 10.7 days, makes an average daily expenditure of 101.7 euros and in 94.3% of cases travels without a tour package. 79% accessed by air and 20.6% by road.
The German tourist to the Comunidad Valenciana stays in hotels (34.8%); homes of relatives and friends (22.4%); second homes (23.5%) and rental homes (13.5%). The campsites attract 3.1% of tourists and the main reasons for the visit are leisure (77%) and personal relations (10%).
It is a market that travels to the Comunidad Valenciana mostly in the third quarter of the year (31.1%) and in the second quarter (27.3%). The months of July, September and October attract 33% of the visits.
Stand of the Valencian Community at ITB
Turisme Comunitat Valenciana is participating in the ITB in Berlin 2023 with its own stand of 170 square metres inside the Turespaña pavilion, plus an individualized counter in the LGBTQ+ segment, which will accommodate 20 co-exhibitors, of which 10 will be companies and others so many, brands and tourist municipalities.
Thus, in the space of the Comunidad Valenciana, the tourist brands of the Costa Blanca are represented, together with the municipalities of Calp and Guardamar del Segura; Valencia Turisme, with the destinations of Cullera and Gandia; Alicante Tourism; Visit Valencia; Visit Benidorm and Visit Elche.
For its part, Visit Benidorm and Visit Valencia participate in the LGBTQ+ Comunitat Valenciana stand, and the presentations of ‘Valencia Gay Games 2026’ and ‘Benidorm’ will be held there.
Likewise, the stand has meeting tables for professional meetings and a gastronomic counter that will offer products with designation of origin from the Comunidad Valenciana.
