Alex Trelinski
A NEW Valencia region campaign is promoting a better understanding between tourists and residents in the wake of ‘anti-tourism’ protests in Spain this year.
The initiative with the slogan “I am also you, I am also a tourist’ was created by Turisme Communitat Valenciana, the Costa Blanca Tourist Board, and the Hosbec hoteliers association.
The aim is for visitors and locals to value the Mediterranean attitude, to take pride in a destination, and take pleasure in sharing it.
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It comes after the anti-tourism movement has shown a strong hand in parts of Spain, but to a far lesser degree in the Valencia region- especially on the Costa Blanca.
Campaign videos posted on social media were shot in Benidorm, Guadalest, the Cabanyal district of Valencia, and Peñiscola- all using the ‘I am also a tourist’ tag-line
The Hosbec association said it is a lot more than just promoting tourism.
“We want to raise tourist and resident awareness about a powerful and positive link between both of them,” it commented.
“We highlight the balance between the uniqueness of a destination and a traveller having an unforgettable experience, with both things being inseparable as everyone is a tourist and a resident at the same time.”
The initiative also goes out on the road to Benidorm this Friday from 10am at the city’s Levante beach by the Biblioplaya.
A formal ceremony takes place an hour later, to be attended by Valencian tourism minister, Nuria Montes, Benidorm mayor and Alicante Provincial Council president, Toni Perez, and the head of the Costa Blanca Tourist Board, Jose Mancedo.
