The city of Benidorm will host again the UCI Cyclocross World Cup for the fourth consecutive year in 2026. News has come to light after the Steering Committee of the International Cycling Union revealed the calendar for the 2025-26 edition of the World Cup in the speciality. Thus, the most prestigious cyclocross tournament will stop again in Benidorm on Sunday, January 18th next year. The Benidorm event will be the tenth of twelve that will make up a World Cup and will visit countries such as the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands before arriving in Benidorm. The mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, has pointed out that the city receives “with great satisfaction the confirmation from the UCI that the Cyclocross World Cup will return to Benidorm”. Pérez has announced that on January 18th “we will once again enjoy this great event, which is proof of the consolidation of this event that will celebrate its fourth edition, yielding extraordinary results both in the dissemination of the sport itself, because Benidorm is a great attraction in itself, and in the dissemination and promotion beyond cycling in the city and the Benidorm brand”. The mayor reiterated that the City Council “is happy and satisfied” and that “despite being an expected news due to the great solidity of Benidorm’s proposal, we have reasons to celebrate it”. Thus, Benidorm will once again enjoy the presence of the best cyclists in the speciality in 2026, who have put on a great show in the three years that the event has been held in the town.

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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The 34-year-old Spanish man apprehended by the Guardia Civil is accused of five Torrevieja home thefts and burglaries. The Torrevieja Investigating Court No. 4 has the detainee.
Starting in January, agents analysed crime scene evidence to identify the suspect. This revealed the culprit was driving a stolen car and using stolen cards.
The Torrevieja Guardia Civil reported several Las Torretas home burglaries at the start of the year. Initial investigations lead cops to a suspect after accumulating many pieces of evidence.
The suspect was linked to late December and early January thefts and new crimes during the investigation.
The inmate broke into homes alone, even if residents were inside. The Investigating Court No. 4 of Torrevieja imprisoned the detainee, who has multiple convictions for similar offences.