Leading representatives of the tourism sector, professionals from travel agencies, airlines, wholesalers, cruise lines, logistics, hotel chains, banks, tourism consulting and innovation companies, car rental, insurance and leisure, among other sectors, gathered at the gala of the 6th edition of the Gaceta del Turismo Awards last Wednesday, along with the tourism and transport authorities of the Valencian Community, who came to support and recognize the daily effort of these professionals.
Among the authorities present, the regional secretary of Tourism, Francesc Colomer, received recognition for the organization of the 1st Mostra del Turisme de la Comunitat Valenciana, from the director and editor of the publication, Rafael Miñana.
Colomer emphasized that “this is an unmissable event” and thanked Gaceta del Turismo for “your commitment to informing and highlighting positive stories from a sector that is fundamental to our community.” He also noted that “we need award winners who can guide us on the path of positive role models.”.
In this regard, Colomer asserted that “tourism is a team sport, because only by working together will we have any chance in this market called the world,” while emphasizing that “a team needs objectives and awareness of its strengths and weaknesses in order to build a value proposition.”.
It's worth recalling that the first Valencian Community Tourism Fair, held at the City of Arts and Sciences in October 2018, was launched with the dual objective of contributing to the deseasonalization of tourism and of structuring the Valencian Community from a tourism perspective. Thus, Turisme Comunitat Valenciana intends to continue and consolidate this event, which allows residents of the three provinces to discover the diverse offerings available within their own region, with the aim of "stimulating our main source market: the residents of the Valencian Community themselves.".
Antoni Bernabé, director of the Valencia Tourism Foundation, received an award for the Film Office Program launched by the Foundation. Bernabé expressed his gratitude for the recognition and emphasized “the broad reach of these awards, which reflect the diverse nature of tourism, as many companies are recognized across the various sectors that comprise the tourist experience, contributing to the Valencian Community's increasingly prominent position as a tourist destination.”.
The renowned Film Office program, an initiative of the Valencia Tourism Foundation, internationally promotes Valencia as the premier filming location. This success is leading to a growing number of promoters and production companies choosing Valencia to film commercials, series, short films, and feature films. “This is a collaborative effort between the Foundation and numerous audiovisual professionals from the Valencian Community and our city, all working together to make Valencia an increasingly attractive filming location for the world,” Bernabé concluded.
Rafael Miñana, editor and director of Gaceta del Turismo, took the opportunity to congratulate the award winners and thank everyone present for making this great gala possible: “I want to thank those who allow us, at events like this, to celebrate the values of effort, creativity and innovation, values that allow the tourism sector to advance and continue growing.”.
Miñana also thanked "the outgoing Valencian government" and welcomed "the incoming one, for having been able to reach out to the sector, listen to its demands and seek solutions.".
The editor and director of Gaceta del Turismo also wanted to echo the requests of the Valencian business world and demanded for the Valencian Community "a Ministry of Tourism with its own entity, so important for the sector.".
The gala, held at the Hotel Balneario Las Arenas in Valencia, concluded with a raffle for the best summer trips for travel agents. This year's destinations included China, Cuba, and Panama with Iberia-British Airways, Cubaires, and Air Europa, and any destination worldwide with KLM and Turkish Airlines. Princess Cruises received the Premium Cruise Leader award from the Valencia Provincial Council. On the left of the image is Carlos Bañó, delegate for Levante and Murcia for Mundomar Cruises, the company's exclusive representative in Spain and Portugal.
