Toni Pérez claims before the United Kingdom ambassador the data and the work of Benidorm, "possibly the safest destination in the world"

The mayor of Benidorm described the meeting held this morning at Benidorm City Council with the United Kingdom ambassador, Hugh Elliot, as “very interesting”. It was attended by, on behalf of HOSBEC, the president, Toni Mayor, and the general secretary, Nuria Montes; by Visit Benidorm, its director, Leire Bilbao, and on behalf of the British Consulate in Alicante, Consul Sarah Jane Morris, and Vice Consul Sarah Munsterhjaelm.

Upon arriving at the City Hall, in the initial formal greeting, Ambassador Elliot highlighted "the positive omen" that this meeting in person represented. After greeting most of the Municipal Corporation, he entered the meeting that lasted more than an hour. At the conclusion of the same Toni Pérez described it as "very interesting" and thanked this first official visit of the ambassador, since the previous one was of a private nature. The outbreak of the pandemic, he said, altered the working formulas, "but which have always been maintained with the ambassador and the Consulate."

"British Tourism is essential for Benidorm", the mayor highlighted, who pointed out that in the session held "very positive data had been contrasted". Pérez insisted that "we work together, share data and analyze the reality of all territories." The mayor insisted that "we work from the maximum realism" and therefore, "there may be an orderly mobility with a significant character in volumes from the months of July-August, August-September."

The mayor recalled the premises from which Benidorm starts: “we know that we are a great destination, very appealing by the British people” and that “there is as much desire to open borders and British people come to Benidorm, as the desire to be able to receive them ”.

Pérez highlighted his confidence that "the rate of vaccination in the Valencian Community continues to progress" because it reinforces the reality of Benidorm, a destination "that is possibly the safest tourist destination, practically, in the world."

In this regard, Pérez highlighted the accumulated incidence that “for Benidorm it is in fifteen cases per one hundred thousand” and that, like this one, “there are many positive factors that this destination offers”. The evolution of the pandemic, he explained, "is very different in Benidorm than in the rest of Europe."

And with this, the mayor insisted, “we have to continue working in that line: offering a safe destination, complying with all regulations, and with responsibility so that everything that can benefit us in the opening so that mainland Spain is incorporated into the green traffic light from United Kingdom. Then, Pérez pointed out, the issue of logistics will come ”.

The important thing, stressed Toni Pérez, is "to be able to receive British tourism from the first minute that is possible in the volume that Benidorm needs", announcing "a summer closely linked to national tourism, with the hope of receiving British from mid-July" .

The ambassador of the United Kingdom, Hug Elliot, highlighted the "enormous pleasure" of being able to hold this physical meeting, after multiple telematic meetings during the last year and a half where there has been, he said, "alignment of approach", highlighting "the enormous desire ”that the British have to return to Benidorm,“ a much loved destination where they will be received with the same hospitality as always ”.

He acknowledged the good epidemiological data obtained by Benidorm "which are a great asset", noting that they are very positive in the future "for tourism will seek safe sites and this work will be recognized."

Regarding the change of color in the holiday feasibility traffic light in the United Kingdom, Elliot indicated that “from these months and from previous decisions we have learned to be cautious”, showing his confidence that “with the increase in vaccinations and the decrease in the prevalence of the virus soon we will have good news "since we are, he said" globally, in the worst moment of the pandemic, with our eyes set on the variants and on the tools to combat them. "

"The desire is there and the collaboration, too," concluded Ambassador Elliot, reaffirming himself on the dates set by the mayor of Benidorm regarding the return of the British "on a vacation that they both want to be able to take."

To questions from the media, he pointed out, realistically, "the low probability" that there will be variation for mainland Spain in the British traffic light and regarding Benidorm and its concept of tourist insularity due to behavior, Ambassador Elliot recognized "that reality; they love being here ”; But he pointed out that the country's strategy is to "operate a global situation," and although the effort of the destination and the desire to come is appreciated, it is not possible to attend to particularities, welcoming the good news of the return of Spanish national tourism to Benidorm's beaches.