Costa Blanca

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

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.

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%.

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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Local Police in Benidorm commemorates its 181st anniversary

Officers and commemorative entities received badges and awards as part of the Benidorm Local Police’s 118th anniversary celebration, which included an institutional event in the Town Hall’s Assembly Hall and a display by the K9 Unit and Response and Prevention Group (GRP) in front of the Town Hall.

The public gathered in the Plaza de Sus Majestades los Reyes de España to witness the performance by the K9 Unit, also known as the “Canine Patrol” of Benidorm. The K9 Unit showed off the harmony between the GRP officers, trainers, and dogs in five fictitious exercises featuring Hanko and Kili, in which the dogs were the key that prevented crimes from being committed in public places.

Following the protest, Benidorm Mayor Toni Pérez and PLBND Chief Superintendent Luis Martín Arévalo inspected the officers who had been trained in front of the Town Hall’s main façade. The Assembly Hall then hosted the formal ceremony.

Along with the mayor, the regional deputies José Ramón González de Zárate and Mario Villar, the regional secretary for Housing of the Generalitat, Sebastián Fernández, the commissioner of the National Police in Benidorm, Luis Manuel Sánchez, the lieutenant of the Traffic Detachment of the Civil Guard, Manuel Sánchez, and numerous other members of the city’s civil society attended the force’s tribute, which was accompanied by Councillor for Citizen Security Jesús Carrobles and other municipal corporation members.

Toni Pérez described the Benidorm Local Police as the “flag and spearhead” of Benidorm in his formal speech. As seen by its performance during the summer high season, a community that does not yet have 75,000 residents is “capable of attending to more than 380,000” people.
The “first calling card” for anyone experiencing trouble when visiting Benidorm is the local police. In order to help the citizen or visitor and advise them “by referring them” to the municipal or administration services they require, Toni Pérez has urged them to “get out” of the automobile or “leave the motorbike aside.”

With examples like the professional career or the Job Evaluation in the City Council, “a desire of more than 15 years,” the mayor emphasised his dedication to the force, which was established in 1844.

In her remarks on the occasion of today’s March 8th celebration, Toni Pérez recalled that the first promotion of female police officers was initiated in Benidorm during the tenure of José Such Ortega, at the time of the Democratic Centre Union (UCD), and that “some of them are still active in other municipal services.”

According to Mayor Luis Arévalo, police officers “are people who work for people” and have an obligation to “guarantee a safe life” for their fellow citizens. He also asserted that more agents are needed in order to give the city the finest service possible.

Ceremony of Awards

The PLBND also expressed gratitude to the National Police, Civil Guard, Benidorm Firefighters, Local Assembly of the Red Cross, and the municipal concessionaire Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas. The Sociocultural Association of the Local Police also gave a metope of recognition to the Cultural and Recreational Association ‘La Barqueta’ during the event.

Similarly, the organisation has given its commemorative coin to those who have contributed significantly to the institution. José Fuster, the president of Civil Protection; Antonio Zamora, the beach concessionaire’s Rescue and First Aid coordinator; M§ Isabel Medina, the chief prosecutor of the Courts of Benidorm; and Joan Francesc Vives, the senior judge, have all received the gift.

Antonio Ortega, Jaime Ángel González, Manuel Risueño, Álvaro Fuertes, José Tomás Galaví, Francisco Javier Sánchez, Mireia Cruz, David Fontanet, Mario César Martínez, José Ramón Fuentes, David Torres, José Casto, Ramón Agüero, Alejandro Andrés, Marcos Perles, Cyntia Romero, Yolanda Bocos, Jorge Ferrer, and Jorge Martín were then given the Generalitat’s honours and decorations.

Officers David González and Jesús López, on the other hand, received the Cross of Police Merit with Blue Distinction for their outstanding performance of their duties and behaviour. Lastly, the PLBND gave a diploma and a commemorative coin to Francisco Javier Gallego, Emilio Espejo, Saúl Pablo Pastor, Juan Vicente Soler, and Juan Miguel Igualada, the officials who retired during the previous fiscal year.

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Today’s Hamburg airport strike will impact Alicante flights

A strike at Hamburg airport in Germany this yesterday, one day before the one already called by the Ver.di union at several German commercial airports for today, Monday, March 10, 2025, has affected forty operations, including those at Alicante-Elche airport, of departing flights (20) and arrivals (20) to Spain.

The Spanish airports that were impacted by the strike in Hamburg had scheduled operations in Gran Canaria, Palma de Mallorca, Madrid, Barcelona, Fuerteventura, Tenerife, Alicante, La Palma, Malaga, and Bilbao, according to Aena sources who spoke to Europa Press.

The strike has been called yesterday “without prior notice” and “immediately” by ver.di, according to Hamburg Airport.

Ver.di has also called for a strike in a number of airport operations, including passenger security checks and aircraft handling, today Monday, March 10th. As a result, the airport stated that while passenger departures are not possible arrivals are, but significant difficulties and cancellations are likely.

According to the German services union’s website, the strikes at German airports are intended to put more pressure on employers from the Federal Association of Aviation Security Companies (BDLS) in collective bargaining talks that have recently stalled in order to improve working conditions for the roughly 25,000 workers in the aviation security industry.

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Police arrest two after stabbing

Two people were arrested after one person was hurt by a weapon during a fight that broke out in Villena early yesterday, Saturday 8th March.

Around 00:20, a fight broke out in the municipality’s town centre in the Medio Vinalopó district.

The detainees are 21 and 22 years old. The young man was treated at the scene by the Emergency Medical Service (SAMU) ambulance medical team after they allegedly stabbed him in the side. He was later taken to the General University Hospital of Elda, where he presented with an open wound and hypovolemic shock from the trauma.

In order to determine the cause of the altercation that broke out between the injured guy and the two young men who were detained as suspected stabbing culprits, the investigation has been taken over by the territorial unit of the Judicial Police of the Civil Guard of Villena.