COSTA ALMERIA NEWS: “Exciting” challenges for new Almanzora Valley tourist business association head

GOALS: The association is aiming to establish the Almanzora Valley as a destination for visitors living within a two to three hour drive. CREDIT: Asociacion de empresarios turisticos Valle del Almanzora

THE Almanzora Valley tourist business association has a new president to lead the organisation in its bid to boost the region’s appeal as a visitor destination.
Luis Aurelio Perez takes over as association head after gaining the unanimous backing of members at the ordinary assembly celebrated this week in Olula del Rio to select the governing council for the next two years.
Members discussed the most important issues which the association has been working on as part of the ‘Turisimo Almanzora’ project since the end of 2017, and in which 22 of the region’s municipalities are participating.
The main objective is to establish the Almanzora Valley as an attractive option for visitors from Almeria and neighbouring provinces who live with a two to three hour drive.
Last year the association organised two ‘Fam trips’ for travel agents and managed 30 one-day excursions with travel agencies in Almeria, Murcia, Granada and Alicante. The organisation also backed a sustainable mobility project through assisting eight local councils in requesting electric vehicle charging points, and which are due to be installed in the coming months.
In addition it has produced dozens of informative leaflets on what to do in the Almanzora Valley, which have been given out to hotels, hostels and restaurants in the area, as well as to hotels and tourist offices in the Levante zone.
Other initiatives included trips for local residents to discover attractions right on their doorsteps like the Filabres mountains, informing local schools of Almanzora excursion options and a ‘Sabores del Almanzora’ guide to promote the region’s produce and cuisine.
The association did TV promotions too. It took part in Canal Sur television’s ‘Destino Andalucia’ series, on which nine of the region’s municipalities were featured, and collaborated on the programme ‘Cometelo’, which provided an opportunity to highlight several local companies’ products.
The association said the plan is to continue pretty much on the same course. Particular goals for 2020 are to launch a commercial tourism plan, which will include a territorial branding strategy to make the ‘Valle del Almanzora’ name more widely known.
Also programmed are excursions in English and French with a view to offering guided tours and experiences to the British, French and Belgian communities.
“Getting all these initiatives goings will be an exciting challenge which will directly and indirectly contribute to improving our region’s economy”, the new association president commented.
GOALS: The association is aiming to establish the Almanzora Valley as a destination for visitors living within a two to three hour drive.

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Written by

Cathy Elelman

Cathy Elelman is the local writer for the Costa de Almeria edition of the Euro Weekly News.

Based in Mojacar for the last 21 years, Cathy is very much part of the local community and is always well and truly up on all the latest news and events going on in this region of Spain.

Her top goals are to do the best job she can informing the local English-speaking community, visitors to the area and the wider world about about the news in Almeria, to learn something new every day, and to embrace very new challenge this fast-changing world brings her way.

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