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Orihuela sets its sights on golf tourism from Alicante cruise passengers
The cultural capital of the Costa Blanca wants to lure Alicante holidaymakers down south
Cruise tourism is booming on the Costa Blanca and by the end of 2024, a hundred cruise ships with more than 230,000 cruise passengers are expected to arrive at the Port of Alicante, leaving more than 60 million euros in the provincial capital alone.
These impressive figures were revealed at last week’s VII Conference of the Alicante Costa Blanca Tourism and Cruises Association, which this year took place in Orihuela.
The location chosen for the conference is far from coincidental, as the powers that be in Orihuela city have made no secret of the fact that they would like to benefit from the thriving cruise tourism market in Alicante city.
The self-styled cultural capital of the Costa Blanca is afraid of being left behind and Orihuela is currently working on marketing strategies to draw passengers from Alicante’s cruise ships, particularly golfers, down to the southern city.
Representatives took the opportunity on Thursday November 14 to highlight everything Orihuela city has to offer in terms of heritage, golf courses, shopping, hotels and top-class restaurants.
Despite the fact that the journey would take almost an hour, Gonzalo Montoya, Councillor for Tourism of the Orihuela City Council, insisted that Alicante cruise passengers should be encouraged to head to Orihuela.
“It has natural heritage with a palm grove that is the second largest in Europe, beaches, the most awarded in the Community, the largest Medieval Market in Spain, and an immense intangible and material heritage.
In just one trip you can visit 8 monuments that are Assets of Cultural Interest. I think that few municipalities, not only in the province, but in Spain, can boast of this,” he said.
Although it might seem like a stretch for cruise tourists, many of whom only dock in Alicante for a day or two, to travel all the way to Orihuela, those involved have actually been promoting inland destinations to passengers for years, and at the moment around 15 other provinces are benefiting from this kind of marketing.
Image: Archive
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