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The Valencian Community leads the growth of foreign tourism in Spain in 2024

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The Valencian Community is leading the growth of foreign tourism in Spain in 2024, recording a year-on-year increase of 14% in the number of arrivals of foreign visitors and 21.3% in their tourist spending, thus exceeding the national average growth of 10.1% and 16.1% respectively.

According to the results of the surveys published this Monday by the National Institute of Statistics, and referring to Tourist Movements at the Border (Frontur) and the Tourist Expenditure Survey (Egatur), the Valencian Community has registered a record of foreign tourist arrivals for a year with 11,938,668 international tourists. In 2023, a total of 10.5 million foreign tourists visited the region.

The disbursement has also been historic with 15,1 billion euro in 2024. The market that has contributed most to this increase in accumulated foreign spending in the Valencian Community has been the British market, which has spent 3,3 billion euro from January to December, 23% more than in the previous year. It is followed by the French market, which has left 2,4 billion euro, 20% more year-on-year, and the Nordic countries, which, with 1,7 billion euro spent, have increased their spending by 35.1% year-on-year.

The regional minister for Innovation, Industry, Trade and Tourism, Marián Cano, stressed that “these are the best results in the entire historical series, thus continuing the upward trend in foreign tourism in recent months”. She also stressed that “we have managed to close the year meeting forecasts, both in arrivals and in revenue, despite the adversities”.

For the head of Tourism, these results reinforce the importance and positioning of the Valencian Community as a top-level tourist destination in international markets, “we continue to be a destination open to the world,” she added.

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Cano also highlighted the significant growth in tourism spending, which she says “will continue to evolve favourably in the Valencian Community in 2025, a year in which a new record is expected in this activity”. The councillor recalled that increasing foreign spending is one of the challenges that this Council has always had, and stressed that “we will continue with this commitment, since there is strength in demand; in addition, deseasonalisation will contribute to spreading it beyond the natural limits of the high season”.

She also wanted to underline the commitment of the Generalitat to “continue promoting the Valencian Community both in consolidated markets and in new emerging markets, such as the United States, China and Japan.”

Average spending and arrivals by market

In 2024, each foreign visitor spent an average of 1,271 euro in the Valencian Community, 6.4% more than the previous year, and with an average stay of 9.7 days, 2.7% higher than in 2023. The average daily expenditure stands at 131 euro, which represents a year-on-year growth of 3.6%.

By market, the most important nationality for the Valencian Community continues to be the United Kingdom, with the arrival of 2,944,576 Brits in 2024, 10.9% more year-on-year.

France is next with 2,259,403 tourists, 14.9% more than the previous year; the Nordic countries with 1,038,311 tourists, 19.9% ​​more than the previous year; and the Netherlands, with 906,776 visitors, representing a growth of 16.6%.

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In addition, the German market is expected to grow by 3% in 2024 with the arrival of 757,544 Germans and tourists from Italy reaching 589,268, 4.5% more than in the previous year.

December month results

In December alone, international tourists visited the Valencian Community in total, amounting to 667,825, spending 850 million euro, which represents a year-on-year increase of 2.2%.

In the same month, each visitor spent an average of 1,272 euro, 9% more than in December 2023; and spending per day reached 111 euro, 6.5% more year-on-year. The average length of stay among tourists was 11.5 days with 7.7 million overnight stays.

By market, the main emitters were the British, which grew by 3.4%, the French and the Nordic countries, the latter with a significant year-on-year increase of 59.4%. However, arrivals of Italian and German tourists were affected.

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There will be fewer terraces, stricter opening hours, and no more 24-hour opening hours in the middle of Alicante at night.

Alicante Bar

This new Acoustically Saturated Zone (ZAS) will soon be in effect in Alicante. It will change the city’s nightlife, leisure activities, and traditions. It was just passed by the city council. This measure changes the times that bars, restaurants, pubs, and clubs close in some parts of the Old Town and the Centre, like Calle Castaños. It also gets rid of the well-known shops and bars that are open 24 hours a day.

Additionally, as part of the ZAS Master Plan, the Alicante local police will carry out a special surveillance operation on behalf of the Department of Security “to ensure compliance with closing times and the removal of terraces or tables and the dissolution of crowds of people in the vicinity of the premises once they are closed,” as agreed upon.

These rules say that bars, pubs, and restaurants in the city heart will have to close at midnight on Fridays, Saturdays, and the night before holidays in the Old Town and between Portal de Elche and Calle Castaños. For their part, discos will close at 3am. From Sunday to Monday, bars will close 30 minutes earlier, at 1:30am, and discos will close at 1am.

On Bonfire Night and holidays like Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, and Twelfth Night, these hours will not be in effect. The hours of operation on these dates will be set by a city decree. During the summer, the door will be opened a bit more. In half an hour, tables and chairs can be set up in the neighbourhood public space from 8 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., but all furniture on the terrace or table must be taken down at 12:30 a.m.


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Alicante Crime: Fewer cases but more Violence

With a 0.7% decrease in recorded offences over the previous year, crime in the province of Alicante had a minor overall dip in 2024. However, a recent Ministry of the Interior report found that robberies, sexual offences, and violent crimes have all climbed.

Increase in Violent Crimes and Murders

The 81.8% increase in homicides and murders, which went from 11 in 2023 to 20 in 2024, is the most concerning number. On the other hand, homicide attempts decreased by 19.7%. In the meantime, there were 1,413 recorded occurrences of attacks and rioting, a 20.1% rise.

Additionally, sexual offences increased by 5.1%, with 1,008 cases reported. Other sexual crimes rose 6.5% to 786 instances, whereas penetration-related rape cases (222) decreased by a small 0.5%. This increase, according to the Ministry, is partly due to victims’ increasing awareness and willingness to disclose crimes.

An increase in drug crimes and robberies

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Alicante province witnessed a 10.5% increase in robberies involving violence and intimidation, with 2,207 instances, while the country’s robbery rates decreased. The enhanced efforts by law enforcement against drug trafficking networks are reflected in the 3.6% increase in drug-related crimes, which reached 1,145 reported instances.

Trends in Cybercrime and Fraud

Overall, cybercrime decreased by 0.1%, remaining largely unchanged. However, following a significant spike in 2023, computer fraud incidents decreased by 1.9%. Other cybercrimes increased from 2,121 to 2,431 cases, a 14.6% increase.

Reduced Home Theft and Burglaries

At 5,699, there was a significant drop in residential burglaries, which was 9.2% lower than in 2023. With 26,416 recorded occurrences, thefts—one of the most frequent crimes affecting locals—also decreased by 2.2%.

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Crevillent and Petrer at opposite ends are crime hotspots.

Crevillent saw the largest increase in crime among the municipalities, with 1,057 reported offences, or a 15.6% increase. Petrer, on the other hand, experienced the biggest drop in crime, with 851 recorded cases—a 21.9% drop.

Alcoy (5.9%), Aspe (7%), Torrevieja (5.4%), Orihuela (0.3%), and Elche (1.4%) are some places where crime has increased. In the meantime, crime decreased in El Campello (-20.8%), Dénia (-5.2%), Altea (-13%), and Benidorm (-3%).

The increase in violent crimes and robberies is a major worry despite the general decline in crime, underscoring the necessity of ongoing watchfulness and law enforcement initiatives throughout

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This weekend, 250 riders from around the world will be in Elche for the International BMX Open.

BMX Elche

This weekend, Elche will be the site of the International Open BMX Racing. This is expected to be the best BMX competition ever, with some of the best riders in the world competing, including Malene Kejlstrup from Denmark, Ruben Gommers from Belgium, Thomas Maturano from Argentina, and Pablo García from Spain, who just won the Indoor de Tours.

The event is being put together by the BMX Alicante Race Team with help from the Unión Ciclista Ilicitana and with the City Council’s help. It will happen on February 15th and 16th at the BMX track at the Miguel Hernández University. The goal of this event, which has different races for kids, adults, and the best riders, is to get more people to play BMX in the city and help the local business and tourism.

People from Germany, the Czech Republic, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Slovakia, Venezuela, Portugal, France, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, Ecuador, and Finland, as well as different parts of Spain, have already stated that they will be running.

Over the two days, the event will have a variety of categories and challenges. On Saturday, it will be open from 9:00 am to 10:30 pm, and on Sunday, it will be open from 9:00 am to 16:00 pm. A food area, a Fan Zone, and a place for shops and vendors will also be there. Through entreticket.es, you can get tickets.

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