Benidorm consolidates its presence at the WTM fair in London

Benidorm is present one more year at the World Travel Market (WTM) in London, which opened this morning in the capital of the United Kingdom and last year attracted 5,000 exhibitors and more than 51,000 visitors. The mayor and president of Visit Benidorm Foundation, Toni Pérez, explained that the city attends this fair "with the help of Turismo Comunitat Valenciana" with two objectives: to consolidate and maintain the British market and search for new markets. In an uncertain context after the 'Brexit', in the agenda of Benidorm during the WTM is to hold meetings with British tour operators and other markets.

On this first day of the 38th edition of the fair, the mayor has shared an agenda with the president of the Valencian Regional Government, Ximo Puig; the regional Secretary of Tourism, Francesc Colomer; and the president of the Provincial Council of Alicante, César Sánchez. Likewise, Pérez has coincided with the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Reyes Maroto; the Secretary of State for Tourism, Isabel María Oliver; the ambassador of Spain in London, Carlos Bastarreche; and the general director of Turespaña, Héctor Gómez; who have visited the stand of the Valencian Community in which Benidorm is located.

An edition that is marked by "the expectation" that arouses the behavior that the British market will have from now on - once the process of the 'Brexit' - which in the last months accumulates a decrease "of 9% in hotel overnight stays " In principle, the forecasts of Visit Benidorm suggest that this trend "will continue to mark 2019" due also to "the recovery of competing destinations and the consequences not yet saved from the bankruptcy of the Monarch airline".

Thus, at the regional level, the British is still the main foreign issuing market, with a share of 32.3% over the total of international tourists and with an average stay of 8.3 days. After closing the year 2017 with an interannual growth of the British market of 14.6%, the course of 2018 is paying off with 1.4% fewer trips. However, despite this drop, the average expenditure per tourist has increased by around 3.50%.

During the WTM, the mayor pointed out that "it is important to be in this tourist fair" since "it is essential to work in the promotion of destinations", especially "when things go well". "You never have to lower your guard," he assured.

Benidorm's delegation has been completed, among others, the manager Visit Benidorm, Leire Bilbao; the president of the hotel management Hosbec, Toni Mayor; and the general secretary of the entity, Núria Montes. All of them have participated in the presentation of the Costa Blanca Benidorm Senior Golf Masters, which will take place from November 29 to December 1 at the Medliá Villaitana hotel facilities. The golfer José María Olazábal will be present in this tournament, the only one of the Staysure Tour (European Senior Circuit) that will be held in our country.

Olazábal will share a poster at Meliá Villaitana Golf Club with some names that are golf history such as Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Paul McGinley, Barry Lane, Phillip Price, Gordon Brand Jr, Constantino Rocca, Gordon J. Brand, Phillip Walton, Eamonn Darcy, Jean Van de Velde, Peter Baker, Thomas Levet, José Rivero or José Cóceres, among others.