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TOURISM UPDATE
The image of Alicante achieved a media impact equivalent to €2 billion thanks to the Volvo Ocean Race
The departure of the 10th Volvo Ocean Race has given the city of Alicante a major promotional boost thanks to the coverage provided by national and international television stations, the equivalent to running a publicity campaign worth around €2 billion, according to the organisers. These results attest to the major international profile and tourist appeal of this event. Following this success, the possibility of Alicante being chosen to host the departure of future editions of the race has received strong support from both residents of Alicante and visitors.
According to the event organisers, the promotion of the "Alicante 2008- 2009 Volvo Ocean Race" brand image achieved a media impact equivalent to running a publicity campaign worth around €2 billion. This conclusion was drawn on the basis that over 300 adverts placed by event sponsors were shown every day on national television.
Furthermore, thanks to the contributions of over €16 million from the event sponsors, hosting the departure of the race in the Region of Valencia did not make a dent in public funds.
Public support
The level of visitor satisfaction with the event was extremely high. According to the results of the Tourist Demand Study for the Alicante 2008 - 2009 Volvo Ocean Race, promoted by Valencia´s Regional Department of Tourism, 97% of residents surveyed felt that the city of Alicante should host this international competition again. Furthermore, the most highly rated aspects included the race itself, security on site and the facilities available at the Race Village.
The study, compiled on the basis of a sample of 1300 surveys, reveals that most visitors came from Spain, in particular the Region of Madrid (27%), and stayed in the Region of Valencia between four and five days, mainly in owned or rented/lent properties, followed by hotels. Foreign tourists represented over 16% of those interviewed, of which 5% were from the United Kingdom.
Of all the visitors, only 16% attended just the event, and the vast majority also took part in complementary activities taking place around the city, which they also rated positively. In fact, the best-rated aspects were night life, restaurants and accommodation; three out of every four people surveyed said they would visit Alicante again and would recommend the city to others.
All told, 48.4% of the residents surveyed who attended the event thought that the Volvo Ocean Race added value to the city in some way. In fact, hosting the race departure has helped to improve the port infrastructures, which have been totally remodelled.
Progress in negotiations
In general terms, the departure of the Volvo Ocean Race from the port of Alicante generated an economic impact of €70 million and attracted close to a million people to the Race Village over the course of 23 days. These results reveal the contribution made by the competition to raising the national and international profile of the city of Alicante and the Region of Valencia as world class locations when it comes to hosting major events and competitions. Valencia´s Regional Government is concluding negotiations to enable the city to host the next edition of the regatta with a view to securing Alicante´s reputation as one of the world´s leading cities for sailing, which would also guarantee its re-election to host future editions.
