Turisme Comunitat Valenciana activates new period of Viatgem program with the distribution of 5,000 new tourism vouchers
Colomer advances that “throughout this month of September we will be issuing new vouchers to enjoy stays in the Valencian Community with a discount of 70% of the total reservation”
Monday 6th September 2021 – PRESS RELEASE with Mike Smith
Turisme Comunitat Valenciana has activated the new period of the Viatgem CV programme this Monday with the distribution of the first 5,000 tourist vouchers so that users can process their reservations, with 12,500 new codes expected to be available during the third phase of the initiative which will run from Wednesday 15th September to Friday 31st December 2021.
The regional tourism secretary, Francesc Colomer, explained that throughout this month, his department will be issuing new vouchers for people to enjoy stays in the Comunidad Valenciana with discounts of up to 70% available on the total price of the trip.
He said that the objective is to extend the good occupancy rate figures that have been registered during the summer in the region as well as contribute to seasonal tourism and the consolidation of the recover of a key sector of the regional economy: tourism.
He added that the reception to the initiative has shown that the Valencian people had not lost their desire to travel and had shown confidence in all the health and safety measures applied by the sector during the COVID-19 pandemic which has made the Comunidad Valenciana a responsible and safe tourist destination.
He confirmed that, as recorded in the resolution published on October 17th 2020 which regulates the initiative, the first people to receive vouchers during this third period will be those who were placed on the waiting list from the previous period, which ran from January 1st to June 15th 2021.
Bono Viaje: The Figures
The travel voucher – Bono Viaje – is an initiative promoted by Turisme Comunitat Valenciana which offers up to 70% discounts on travel throughout the region which aims to stimulate internal tourism during the off-season and combat the socio-economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Each voucher has a maximum value of 600 euros. In the event that a reservation is not formalized within seven days, or the maximum amount is not used after the discount is applied, more codes are released and more vouchers awarded in order of the waiting list.
The initiative consists of three periods: the first covered the last quarter of 2020 during which more than 27,000 Valencians benefited with a total of 9,155 reservations, whilst the second was active between January 1st and June 15th 2021 which benefited more than 47,000 people who used the voucher to make 15,876 reservations across the region. A total of 17 million euros has been invested in the programme: 5 million euros for the 2020 phase and 12 million euros for the two periods during 2021.
In total, the Viatgem CV has registered more than 25,000 reservations which have benefited some 75,000 people and about 1,500 affiliated tourist companies, of which 641 are based in the province of Alicante, 247 in the province of Castellón, and 595 in the province of Valencia.
Bono Viaje: User Profile
According to the latest data available, the average number of people benefiting from the travel voucher initiative is three people and the average stay in three in all types of accommodation, much higher in campsites (an average of 12 nights) and in private rentals (more than six nights on average). About half the stays extend beyond the weekend, which represents a significant revitalization of the tourism sector in the region.
The most popular type of accommodation is the hotel, followed by rural accommodation and campsites. The destinations most in demand are in the province of Alicante: Benidorm, Finestrat, Altea, Calp, Benimantell, Jávea and Alicante; in the province of Castellón, they are Peñíscola and Morella; and in the province of València, it is the city itself.
Although the large part of the subsidized tourist spending is concentrated on tourist accommodation, participating travel agencies also offered other services which helped to keep them open beyond the tourist season, thus contributing the seasonal adjustment of the tourism sector in the Comunidad Valenciana.
Click here for more information about the Viatgem CV initiative.
