“Benidorm is essential for Destinia”

In a meeting to analyze the market and perspectives, Benidorm Tourism Foundation has had contact today with directors of the online travel agency Destinia, one of the main operators in the national and international markets.

The mayor of Benidorm Toni Pérez has chaired the meeting which was attended by the founder of Destinia, Amuda Goueli, and the general manager, Ricardo Fernández. It was also attended by Nuria Montes, general secretary of Hosbec and by Leire Bilbao, manager of Visit Benidorm Foundation. Among the patrons, from the Executive Committee of the Foundation, Federico Fuster, Pere Joan Devesa, Natalia Caballé and José Pascual Medina attended the meeting.

In the course of it, the data on reserves and forecasts for the summer have been assessed.

In the evaluation of the meeting, Mayor Toni Pérez highlighted the importance of Destinia in the tourism market, its technological and innovative value, and its implementation, pointing out its global positioning and "being a benchmark in marketing". Pérez has described the alliance as “fruitful” “which gives such good results”: 7% of the tourists who arrive in Benidorm do so through the OTA Destinia.

At this point, Ricardo Fernández, general director of Destinia, has pointed out that "Benidorm is a fundamental destination" and has focused it on the "German, British and Spanish" markets, pointing out "very good figures and forecasts". The domestic market, he said, "is only 1% down from 2019, with an 11% price increase." The Spanish consumer, Fernandez said, is more short-sighted. On the contrary, he insisted, we recorded “a 70% rise in the British market compared to the same dates in 2019”.
Fernández pointed out the existence of challenges for tourist destinations - "geopolitics, inflation, pandemic" - although it meant his confidence, and with the destination Benidorm, "of a very good season. Fernández concluded by calling it a "privilege" to collaborate with Benidorm.

In this regard, Leire Bilbao highlighted the "co-marketing actions developed to improve sales" for which campaigns are being carried out with Destinia. She recalled the success of the Senior campaign, already developed, and the new summer campaign. It is, she explained, "a joint effort with which we all benefit."

For his part, Toni Pérez insisted on the work "side by side" that is carried out with Destinia, which represents "an incentive", working so that "the numbers look like 2019 as soon as possible and we can overcome them". He highlighted the excellent performance in the British market and the "last minute booking factor" in the domestic market.

After that, he stressed that "Benidorm's first challenge is to maintain our commitment to sustainability", meaning that "in Benidorm we pursue excellence"; hence this relationship with an outstanding OTA operator such as Destinia with the aim of "projecting a better image and effort".

Finally, Pérez, insisting on the sustainability factor, claimed that "the tourism sector, as a whole, must carry the banner of sustainability as a guarantee for the future."