390 professionals from the British tourism sector rediscover Benidorm in Advantage2023

Since Saturday, the Advantage 2023 Conference is being held in Benidorm in which 390 professionals from the British tourism sector are rediscovering Benidorm through the annual event of The Advantage Travel Partnership, the largest independent group of travel agents in the United Kingdom.

These business and leisure travel agents collectively generate an economic turnover of over £4.5bn in travel sales each year, making them leading endorsers in the UK travel industry.

Last night, on the occasion of the gala dinner offered by Tourespaña, which was attended by the director of the London office, Manuel Butler, the mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, welcomed the city, encouraged "to rediscover Benidorm" and highlighted the examples of success that Benidorm has been developing in terms of sustainability, one of the fundamental axes of the Smart Tourist Destination.

The conference analyzes the post-pandemic evolution of the sector and the new market trends, focused mainly on sustainability, on which the event revolves, which has valued good practices in Spain and especially those developed in Benidorm.

Pérez highlighted “that Benidorm has sustainability in its DNA as a tourist destination since its beginnings in the mid-fifties; when there was still no awareness of it", which has found perfect harmony with The Advantage Travel Partnership's commitment to sustainability, which focuses the new roadmap through the ECOsmart certification on the reconstruction processes of its agencies after the pandemic. Julia Lo Bue-Said, the executive director, pointed out, in this regard, that they are also focused on issues of mitigation of the effects of climate change, very much in line with the Benidorm initiatives that materialized since 2016.

The mayor recalled Benidorm's commitment to COP26, with the first Municipal Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change and its projection on renewable energy and energy efficiency.
At the Advantage 2023 Conference, Toni Pérez learned first-hand the conclusions of the market study presented where the Sun and Beach product continues to be the favorite of the British, that holidays continue to be an inalienable priority, and that we are among the five favorite destinations next summer vacation.

The director of Visit Benidorm, Leire Bilbao, highlighted that the objective of Benidorm focused on collaborating in the experience of rediscovering Benidorm, for which she organized a specific Fam Trip with complementary activities on the great local offer. At the same time, she said, a Press Trip has been carried out with the specialized press group that follows the event.

Turespaña, through the director of the London office, Manuel Butler, together with Meliá Villaitana, have been decisive in the choice of Benidorm as the venue for the congress; an action coordinated with Turisme Comunitat Valenciana and Costa Blanca.