In recent decades, the city of Valencia has seen a significant increase in the number of tourists who have visited it.
Article from CruisesNews magazine
Likewise, while until the end of the 20th century the capital of the Valencian Community was mainly a recipient of tourism linked to the business world, with the arrival of the new century this trend began to change and Valencia began to strongly embrace another type of tourism, cultural and leisure.
Over time, this fondness became more pronounced, thanks above all to investment in new infrastructure (the City of Arts and Sciences is the paradigm of this fact), participation in fairs and promotional events and the organization of world-class events (Formula 1 and America's Cup), which, in addition to the huge number of visitors received during the celebration of these, managed to attract the attention of millions of people, who set their sights on the city and began to include it in the plans of their future trips.
The City of Arts and Sciences remains the most visited tourist attraction by cruise ship passengers.
Undoubtedly, the cruise sector benefited from this positive trend, and cruise lines, despite the proximity between Valencia and Barcelona—the world's leading cruise port after the three giants in Florida—began to invest in the capital of the Turia region. While in 1999 there were twelve cruise ship calls—with only 3,165 passengers in total—(Las Provincias, May 13, 2012), a decade later, 185,000 tourists arrived in Valencia. However, in 2012, Emiliano González, then Managing Director of MSC Cruises in Spain, was already praising the destination, stating that “Ten years ago, the port of Valencia was unknown in the cruise market, but in recent years it has experienced a strong boost thanks to improvements in its facilities for passenger embarkation, transit, and disembarkation. Today it is already an important port on the cruise circuit” (Levante, El Mercantil Valenciano, May 13, 2012). Currently, the Port Authority's forecasts predict a cruise passenger volume of nearly 600,000 by 2020.
The keys to success.
But what does the city offer that makes cruise lines schedule more and more stops in this port each year? What prompts a cruise passenger to book a cruise departing from Valencia or including a stop there?
There are several reasons why the city of Valencia is an ideal destination for cruise ships. The first is accessibility. In recent years, improvements in transport links with the rest of Spain and major European cities are readily apparent.
By road, several highways and motorways connect Valencia with some of the main points of the Iberian Peninsula. In fact, the two largest cities in Spain, Madrid and Barcelona, can be reached in just over three hours. Even less time is required if the chosen option is the AVE high-speed train, as the journey between the Spanish capital and the Joaquín Sorolla station takes less than two hours. The future Mediterranean Corridor, which will connect the entire coastline from Algeciras to the French border, will reduce travel time between Valencia and other major cities to almost half of the current time.
Mediterranean Corridor: It will connect Algeciras to the French border. It will reduce travel time between Valencia and other major cities to almost half of the current time.
Perhaps the Achilles' heel in terms of accessibility is the airport. Although it is connected to major European cities, the lack of better infrastructure, more frequent flights, and the (almost) absence of direct connections to airports on other continents hinder Valencia from making a significant leap forward and improving its performance as a home port.
Other reasons the city can offer to attract cruise lines and passengers include the open nature of its inhabitants, who, unlike in other cities with a strong tourism tradition, live alongside travelers. This combines their hospitality with the involvement of public—particularly the Port Authority—and private entities, all working toward a clear goal: ensuring a comfortable stay for tourists. This objective is clearly being achieved, as over 90% of travelers are willing to recommend the city to their friends and family.
Added to this is its Tourist Friendly character, a label highly valued by key players in the cruise industry, especially after the episodes of anti-tourism experienced elsewhere last summer. Cruise traffic congestion in some established ports is another advantage and a great opportunity for Valencia to offer new opportunities in a theoretically underdeveloped destination.
However, beyond its improved accessibility, lack of tourist overcrowding, and "Tourist Friendly" label, Valencia's tourism offerings, both cultural and leisure-related, truly stand out, all thanks to the commendable work of Valencian public institutions. These institutions have highlighted the city's heritage through promotional efforts at events and fairs held in some of the world's leading cities, such as Amsterdam (last month), Berlin, Singapore, London, and the most important cruise industry event, Seatrade in Miami. They have also organized familiarization trips (fam trips) for journalists and bloggers to introduce the city to their audiences and arranged inspection visits for cruise line executives.
What can a cruise passenger find when visiting Valencia?
The tourist attractions offered by cities like Barcelona, Rome, and Venice—three of the most frequently scheduled stops on Mediterranean cruise itineraries—are well known. However, the same cannot be said for Valencia. As we've already mentioned, until recently, the city was largely outside the cruise circuit, and its tourism was primarily linked to the business world. Undoubtedly, this situation has begun to change in recent years, and although the City of Arts and Sciences remains the most visited tourist attraction by cruise passengers in Valencia (in 2016, almost 2 million tourists visited one of its buildings, with L'Oceanogràfic being the most popular at 1,091,717), other monuments and attractions have been experiencing a surge in popularity in recent years.
The routes are ideal for cruise passengers, as they perfectly adapt to the port call schedules of a ship.
Among them, Bioparc stands out, which with 570,000 visitors, is the third most visited place in the city; the Silk Exchange (just over half a million people visited it last year); the La Beneficiencia Cultural Center - which houses two of the most important museums in the city: the Museum of Prehistory of Valencia and the Valencian Museum of Ethnology - or MUVIUM (Valencian Museum of Illustration and Modernity), both with just over 200,000 visitors in 2016 each.
However, these main attractions are by no means all that a cruise passenger can discover in Valencia. The range of options available is so extensive that anyone disembarking in the city will be surprised, regardless of the type of activity they are looking for, whether it be cultural, gastronomic, beach-related, leisure, nature-related, or shopping tourism, among others.
Culturally, the city's historic center offers a day packed with places to discover, sure to satisfy even the most discerning tourist. Several landmarks will have visitors snapping photos: the Quart and Serranos Towers, Valencia Cathedral, Plaza Redonda (also known as Plaza de la Virgen), and Valencia City Hall are just some of the most outstanding examples of the magnificent architecture in this part of the city. These monuments, located within the historic center, are not far apart, making it easy to combine exploring them on foot with visiting the most iconic buildings.
On the other hand, if cruise passengers want to discover the excellent gastronomy that the city offers, they will obviously want to try Spain's most international dish, paella. But why sit down in a restaurant and order a dish when cruise passengers can prepare it themselves before tasting their creation? This option already exists, and in addition to enjoying this famous dish, the meal will be accompanied by salads made with produce from the Valencian countryside and local wines.
Speaking of wines, a very interesting getaway for cruise passengers who already know the city would allow wine lovers to discover the wines and cured meats of the Utiel-Requena area, which is located less than an hour from Valencia, towards the interior of the province.
Conversely, if the traveler is looking for something different, the Mercado Colón is their destination. Located in the historic building of the same name, which was inaugurated on Christmas Eve in 1916, this venerable food market, after extensive renovations, is now a place where modern design blends seamlessly with the architectural style of the early 20th century. At the Mercado Colón Gastro Market, visitors will find boutiques with gourmet products, a variety of high-quality culinary establishments—including the two run by Michelin-starred chef Ricard Camarena—horchata shops (selling horchata, a typical Valencian drink), and the elegant Down Monkey Business pub.
The Colón Market perfectly combines today's cutting-edge design with the architectural style of the early 20th century.
Nature lovers can find La Albufera just a few kilometers from the city. Declared a Natural Park in 1986, it is one of the most popular tourist destinations for visitors seeking something different from urban Valencia. It served as the setting for the novel Cañas y Barro (Reeds and Mud), written by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez in 1902, at the dawn of the 20th century. Easily accessible from the city, La Albufera is one of Spain's most important wetlands, offering cruise ship passengers a variety of activities: hiking trails, visiting a traditional Valencian farmhouse (barraca), sampling the local cuisine, or taking a boat trip on this coastal lagoon.
Inland, the options for nature lovers and hikers are even wider, combining beautiful landscapes (with a wide range of multi-adventure activities) with the rich and historic architecture of ancient times in Valencian territory.
Implementation of the routes:
To further highlight this architectural and cultural heritage, public institutions have created and promoted a series of routes that allow cruise passengers, during their limited time at port, to explore and discover the city's main attractions. Some of these routes aim to introduce travelers to the city's most representative features (in broad strokes), while others seek to allow them to delve deeper into some of Valencia's most significant aspects.
Two of the most popular routes are undoubtedly those of avant-garde Valencia—with the City of Arts and Sciences as its main stronghold—and historic Valencia—discussed earlier; as contrasting as they are equally enriching. However, the most striking routes are, curiously, those most overlooked by cruise ship passengers, those that rarely appear in cruiser accounts, those that occupy the least space in the photo albums of those who have just finished a trip, those that, in short, remain unknown to most of the tourism community.
These routes are ideal for cruise passengers, as their short duration perfectly suits a ship's port call schedule. Furthermore, some of them can be combined with each other or allow cruise passengers to combine them with independent visits to other parts of the city.
Public institutions pursue a clear objective: to ensure a comfortable stay for the tourist.
The options are varied, and some shipping companies have already begun offering them in recent years. Several of the shorter trips take place within the city, while the longer ones depart from other locations in the province.
Perhaps the most interesting are:
Valencia, City of Silk: Mentioning the Silk Road in conversation evokes a very distant period in time and space. However, in 2015, UNESCO included the city of Valencia within this legendary route. The tour lasts two hours and during that time you visit the splendid Silk Exchange (built between the 15th and 16th centuries), the velvet workers' quarter (where the silk guild was located), and the Silk Museum, ending the tour in shops selling typical Valencian clothing.
The Holy Grail and Religious Art Route: Another name that evokes a distant past is that of the Holy Grail, the chalice used by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper. This two-and-a-half-hour tour highlights the Chapel of the Holy Chalice in Valencia Cathedral, as it houses the only chalice recognized by the Vatican and used by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI during their visits to Valencia. In addition to this chapel, the cathedral also features the Miquelet—an octagonal bell tower almost 51 meters tall. The tour concludes with visits to other churches such as San Nicolás and San Juan del Hospital.
Fallas Tour: Undoubtedly, if a cruise ship visits Valencia during Fallas season, choosing what to see or do will be extremely easy. However, the importance of this festival, which was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity last year, is so great that it's possible to enjoy it year-round. The three-hour tour takes you through the City Hall, Plaza de la Virgen, the Serranos Towers, and a shop selling traditional Valencian clothing, ending at the Guild of Fallas Artists and the Fallas Museum. Its proximity to the City of Arts and Sciences allows cruise passengers to combine their visit with the tour.
Horchata Route: If paella is Valencia's most famous dish, horchata, though less well-known, is the region's signature drink. This route teaches you the entire process, from planting the tiger nuts to harvesting and drying them, ending the one-and-a-half to two-hour tour with a taste of this refreshing beverage that has been gaining popularity year after year.
Lladró Factory: Marketed for some years now by some cruise companies, almost all of them North American, in this tour cruise passengers visit the National Ceramics Museum in the Palace of the Marquis of Dos Aguas, ending the route at the Lladró Exhibition and Museum Center in the town of Tavernes Blanques, just ten kilometers from the center of Valencia and where cruise passengers will learn about the process of creation and decoration of the porcelain pieces of this world-renowned firm.
The unsung heroes of cruise life:
Companies like Intercruises, unknown to most cruise passengers, make life easier for both passengers and cruise lines during port calls. These companies offer comprehensive services (excursions, turnaround, agency services, and hotel bookings) before, during, and after cruise ship stops. In Valencia, they have been working discreetly for over ten years to ensure the most pleasant stay possible for the ship, its crew, and passengers.
Perhaps their most visible aspect is their excursions. They acknowledge that in Valencia, the most popular are those visiting the historic center and the City of Arts and Sciences, especially the Oceanogràfic. However, it's also true that in recent years they've been developing innovative excursion offerings and providing new tours to passengers. With the rise in popularity of cruises, there's a significant number of repeat customers (who frequently choose this mode of travel), and they aim to offer excursions for all segments, from families to tourists seeking more cultural, adventure, or gastronomic experiences.
Tourist routes. Public institutions have highlighted the city's heritage through promotional efforts. To further showcase this architectural and cultural heritage, a series of routes have been created and promoted. The sheer number of options available is so considerable that anyone arriving in the city will be amazed.
To carry out this work efficiently in the city, these types of companies have, in addition to a headquarters, local offices and teams in the cities that receive cruise ships and work closely with local suppliers, who know the destination best, and collaborate, in the case of Valencia, with public institutions such as Turismo Valencia or the Port Authority and in the private sector, for example, with the Transmediterránea passenger terminal in order to advance every day and continue growing in the sector.
Among their demands, they are calling for increased work from public agencies, as the cruise terminal is becoming too small to accommodate the hundreds of passengers it receives each week. Therefore, they are demanding a new cruise terminal that would attract new cruise lines to visit Valencia.
INTERVIEW WITH SANDRA GÓMEZ
First Deputy Mayor of Valencia City Council President of the Valencia Tourism Foundation
In recent years, the number of cruise ships arriving in Valencia has increased. What is the reason for this? What work has Turismo Valencia and the city council done to make this happen?
Cruise tourism in the city of Valencia is growing sustainably. In recent years, we have observed a positive evolution in the number of cruise passengers and port calls. In 2016, we received more than 400,000 visitors, and this year we are growing at a rate of 6%, according to data provided by the Port Authority of Valencia (APV).
The growth of this sector is accompanied by improvements in port services and facilities, including the planned construction of a new terminal that will also contribute to better port services for shipping companies and cruise passengers. Valencia boasts a rapidly developing port destined to become a major attraction.
Cruise passengers are a very attractive segment for our city, and one to which we must pay special attention. We are carrying out specific actions to promote the city, tailored to the specific needs of cruise visitors. This year, for example, we launched the new Professional Cruise Guide, held meetings and business activities with various cruise lines, and participated in major industry trade shows and forums such as Seatrade Cruise Global in Florida and the CLIA Summit at Sea.
Valencia has been a homeport for cruise lines such as MSC Cruises, Costa Cruises, and Pullmantur Cruises. What does Valencia need to do to convince North American cruise lines to definitively commit to the city and make it their homeport? Is the proximity of Barcelona and its undeniable potential a disadvantage?
Valencia is a highly valued destination for cruise companies and is successfully positioning itself in the market with a distinctive message based on what characterizes us as a city. This gives us an edge over any other destination, national or international.
The Port Authority is focusing its efforts on modernizing the port's infrastructure to attract new companies, such as those from North America, to our city. The docks are already equipped to receive large, state-of-the-art ships, giving us a competitive advantage over other Mediterranean destinations. Furthermore, the construction of a new cruise terminal, capable of simultaneously serving both transit and homeport vessels, remains part of the Port Authority of Valencia's strategic plans.
All of this, combined with the discounted rates, the excellent service to the ship, the existence of a well-integrated port community and, of course, the various tourist attractions that our city offers, we believe will serve as an incentive for shipping companies to choose Valencia as a port of embarkation and disembarkation.
Speaking of Barcelona, last summer the term "tourismphobia" became fashionable due to some events that took place in that city. What strategies will be implemented to ensure that Valencia continues to be a "tourist-friendly" city?
Tourismphobia is a problem that has affected some very specific destinations, but it doesn't reflect the reality of all cities, and certainly not the case of Valencia.
We maintain a strong commitment to tourism; we want residents to understand the benefits this activity brings them, not only economically but also socially. That's why we maintain an open dialogue with key social and economic stakeholders. The perception is positive.
On the other hand, Valencia has 5 large tourist areas, which allows us to diversify the different flows of tourists.
What are the future plans for the continued growth of cruise tourism in the city?
With the implementation of the Strategic Tourism Plan, we have launched the València Cruises product, a collaborative program involving representatives from the Port Authority, the València City Council through the València Tourism Foundation, the València Provincial Council, the Valencian Tourism Agency, the Valencian Shipping Association, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Valencian Business Confederation. The goal is to increase Valencia's competitiveness as a cruise destination.
Our priority is to position the Port of Valencia as a home port, increasing overnight stays in the city and average spending. We also aim to attract luxury and niche cruise ships and support the marketing of tourism products and offerings that appeal to cruise passengers, thereby increasing their investment in the destination. Furthermore, we are working closely with the Port Authority to attract cruise lines by improving port services and offering favorable port fees, among other benefits.
It is crucial to meet the needs of this segment, taking into account their role as prescribers among a medium-to-high-income audience.
Let's talk about what a cruise passenger can expect when a ship makes a port call. Besides the City of Arts and Sciences—the most visited tourist attraction—what other places would you highlight?
The City of Arts and Sciences is among Valencia's most popular tourist attractions for cruise passengers, but in addition to this cutting-edge element, they are also greatly drawn to the architecture, history, and culture of our city, as well as natural attractions like the Bioparc or the Albufera Natural Park.
Furthermore, the cruise passenger profile is closely linked to shopping and gastronomy, so they often stroll through the main commercial areas of the city center where they find a wide range of restaurants and shops.
Recently, several routes have been launched that further enhance the city's appeal. What can you tell me about these routes?
Of the tourism products that the Foundation makes available to visitors, these routes are among the most interesting for this segment and best suited to their needs, given their organization and prior coordination.
Recently, the Silk Route, the Religious Art Route and the Fallas Tour have been launched, through which you can discover the Silk Museum, San Nicolás, the Museum of the Guild of Fallas Artists or even make visits and activities linked to Fallas, such as creating a ninot in the workshops of the Fallas artists.
However, Valencia's offerings are so extensive that, as specified in the Cruises tourist guide "So good…They won't want to go back abroad", a visit to the Lladró ceramics factory, bike routes through the Turia Gardens, the Cabecera Park and the Horchata Route, excursions to the Albufera Natural Park, the Mestalla Tour, and the Tapas Tour are also recommended.
With the implementation of the Strategic Tourism Plan, we have launched the València Cruises product, a collaborative program in which representatives of different public and private institutions and organizations participate.
