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Valencia has made great progress as a tourist destination with the announcement of a new, direct air connection with New York that Delta Airlines will begin to offer as of next summer. As of June 6, this Mediterranean city will connect with JFK Airport – a regular connection, with four flights per week. This development has come about thanks to the intense efforts of Turismo Valencia and the Valencia regional government’s Ministry of Tourism, entities responsible for tourist promotion in the city and the region, respectively.
This historical step in Valencia’s progress within the tourist sector opens the city’s doors to the entire USA, since it will link Valencia with the whole Delta network in this country, which has over 50 connections in JFK Airport, one of the largest in both the world and the USA. Therefore, Valencia will benefit both from connections between New York and the main American cities, as well as the direct access provided to thousands of Americans.
North American tourists like Valencia. So much so, that during the last few years, Valencia has experienced the fifth highest level of growth among European cities as a destination for American tourists, having seen traffic increase by 10 percent between 2001 and 2006, compared with the European average of 2 percent. Similarly, the USA is the intercontinental country that sends Valencia most tourists, with an increase of over 80 percent since 2004, with currently 41,000 visitors per year.
Delta’s confirmation of its new intercontinental connection is largely a result of the activities carried out by Turismo Valencia in the USA during recent years. For several years now, the entity has been carrying out an intense promotional campaign in this market, which it considers strategic. This constant activity has attracted the attention of North American operators and the general public alike, raising their awareness of the city’s virtues and promoting the Valencia brand throughout the country.
As a culmination to this process, at the beginning of 2008, Valencia entered into competition with other major cities around the world as a candidate for this new air connection. Invitations were extended to those responsible both for the company’s intercontinental planning and for regional sales to visit the city during the Formula 1 Grand Prix in order to provide them with first-hand experience of Valencia.
The managing director of Turismo Valencia, Jose Salinas, has expressed his satisfaction at the fact that the recent progress made in the development of infrastructures, in the attraction of large-scale events and visitors and the city’s growing international reputation, have provided positive results once more. "Today’s announcement is a clear result of sound work, an appropriate strategy, and well-founded analysis."
He also mentioned that, according to Turismo Valencia’s analysis, North Americans like the city, and that this was reason behind the entity’s work in attracting this new connection. "It is no coincidence that, thanks to the efforts of Turismo Valencia, the city has been covered in such media as Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Forbes, Conde Nast Traveller, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post, and by television channels such as E! Entertainment and PBS."
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
