Else Beekman
A province on Spain’s east coast has set its sights on attracting more tourists from the UK, the Netherlands and Germany. This is also possible thanks to more direct flights to these three key markets.
This concerns the province of Castellón, the northernmost coastal province of the Valencia region. The decision follows the increase in air connections with the airports of Castellón and Valencia. Consequently, the three regions are now a priority for the promotional organisation Introducing Castellón.
Strategic partnerships and market focus
Javier Gallego, chairman of Introducing Castellón, emphasises in the newspaper El Mundo the intensive efforts being made to reach the German market. Agreements have been concluded there with tour operator Berge & Meer. Successful negotiations have also been held in the UK and the Netherlands with a specialist in cycling tourism and a leading travel organisation respectively.
Flights to the UK
The number of flights to and from the UK from Castellón airport has increased with two weekly flights in winter and four in summer. This means a significant improvement in the accessibility of Castellón. Valencia’s airport is also seeing growth in routes and partnerships with tour operators such as Easyjet Holidays. They bring tourists to the Valencian coast in collaboration with hotel complexes such as Magic World.
Flights to Germany, including Düsseldorf Weeze
On March 31, there will be a second flight to Germany with Berlin as a new destination from Castellón airport. This is next to the existing route to Düsseldorf Weeze. Castellón thus strengthens its appeal to the German and Dutch markets, as many Dutch people use the latter airport. This is further supported by the increase in direct flights from the Netherlands to Valencia.
Goal: more tourists outside the high season
Gallego underlines the importance of these strategic markets. These contribute to the goal of allowing tourists to stay longer and combating seasonality. Hotels are now mainly open from June to November. However, Introducing Castellón aims to expand this to at least ten months per year. That is why it has started a collaboration with Magic World, the new Marina d’Or. With this, Introducing Castellón wants to realise up to 10,000 additional hotel nights for British tourists in Oropesa del Mar and other municipalities in the province. In other areas, the organisation is in discussions with EasyJet and the British tour operator On the Beach.