Valencian región committed to continuing to promote itself to the British market
The regional secretary of Tourism has participated in the opening of the Congress “Intele Travel”, which brings together 200 British travel agents in Valencia
Monday 18th October 2021 – PRESS RELEASE with Mike Smith
The regional secretary for Tourism, Francesc Colomer, together with the president and CEO of Intele Travel, James Ferrara, and the councillor of Tourism in Valencia, Emiliano García, participated in the inauguration of the INTELE TRAVEL Congress, an event that brings together 200 British travel agents in Valencia as well as tour operators, cruise companies and the media specializing in tourism from the United Kingdom.
Colomer said that since the region’s main market is British, he has decided to continue promoting the Comunidad Valenciana to the United Kingdom whilst the American market is also part of the future plans for his department.
He explained that the Valencian region is a constantly evolving tourist destination with a desire for improvement, adding that, beyond the weather, the sunshine, the beach, the gastronomy, the natural parks and the urban and cultural tourism, the region is a lifestyle and a way of being which they call hospitality.
He added that, “in the post-COVID world, after the very darkest hours, the tourism sector is necessary because travel will be part of the future of humanity” and claimed that, according to a number of surveys, the demand for international tourism in Spain is likely to grow by some 200% by the end of the year.
On behalf of the city of Valencia, its councillor for Tourism, Emiliano García, thanks Intele Travel for “the efforts made for Valencia to remain the environment where the British rest, enjoy and discover an authentic and hospitable territory”, explaining that the city council has committed to show that Valencian is a sustainable, safe and healthy destination”.
He added that “the tourism sector is key in the challenges that we face worldwide, such as the fight against climate change”, pointing out that “we have audited the carbon footprint of tourism and we are committed to being a carbon-neutral destination by 2025”.
Intele Travel Congress
The Intele Travel consortium, with the collaboration of Turisme Comunitat Valenciana, Visit Valencia and Turespaña. chose the city of Valencia to bring together 200 of its agents from the United Kingdom for various conferences and workshops, including presentations on the Comunidad Valenciana as well as other tourist agencies: Castellón, Valencia Turisme, Visit Valencia, Costa Blanca Tourism Board, Alicante and Benidorm.
In addition, municipalities and other destinations in the region have space to showcase their tourism potential to the agents whilst various familiarization trips have been organised to different destinations across the Comunidad Valenciana, aiming to give the representatives first-hand experience of the natural, gastronomic, historical, cultural and leisure options which can be offered to their customers in promoting the region as a tourist destination.
Intele Travel is a consortium of about 40,000 home-based travel agents in the United States and about 4,500 agents in the United Kingdom, where it is expanding significantly in recent years. Its agents work with a wide variety of tourist products from airline tickets, cruises, all types of accommodation, car rental services, excursion hire, event attendance, as well as tour packages. Its suppliers include some of the leading tour operators and agencies in the industry, including TUI, Olympic Holidays, Celebrity Cruises, Carnival Cruise Lines, Explore Worldwide, Trafalgar Tours and others.
