Date Published: 28/04/2021
ARCHIVED - 60,000 tourists still on the waiting list for the Bonoviaje travel discounts in the region of Valencia
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
The programme aims to promote internal tourism within the provinces of Alicante, Valencia and Castellón, offering value "Staycations" to residents of the region
Nearly 60,000 potential tourists in the region of Valencia are on a waiting list to receive a transport discount, provided by the Bonoviaje scheme, which was designed by the regional government to promote tourism within the Comunidad Valenciana, after the devastating effects of Covid-19 on the tourism industry.
The Bonoviaje program, which is an extension of the “Viatgem CV” program, offers discounts of up to 70% on different modes of transport to reach tourist destinations, as well as the accommodation itself, with a maximum discount of 600 euros, for residents in the region of Valencia who want to travel to other parts of the region, with the objective of alleviating the economical strain on the tourism sector, especially hotels and rental holiday properties.
These two industries within the sector have seen a 70% drop in occupancy since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, when international and national mobility was significantly reduced.
The regional government has spent 12 million euros so far on the discount program, but due to its success, the funding hasn’t been sufficient, and thousands of residents are still waiting for their discounts. The ministry of Tourism has registered around 16,000 reservations made with Bonoviaje so far this year, in addition to the 9,157 reservations made in the last trimester of 2020.
The most requested tourist destinations are located in the province of Alicante: Benidorm, Finestrat, Altea, Calp, Benimantell, Xàbia and Alicante, followed by the city of Valencia and Peñíscola and Morella in Castellón.
The data also shows that the most popular type of accommodation is a hotel, which accounts for around 78% of the reservations, followed by rural accommodation (10%) and camping sites (8%).
The average stay of the reservations is over three nights in all accommodation types, and, on camping sites, the average stay is around 12 nights. In tourist properties, such as rental apartments, the median stay is over 6 nights, while in hotels, the average stay is around 5 nights.
In addition, around 40% of the tourists using Bonoviaje made their reservation through a travel agency and 48.3% of users made reservations during the week, as opposed to during the weekend, which means a significant and much needed revitalization of the tourism sector.
Although the initial intention was that the Bonoviaje scheme would only be in place during the “off-season”, the program is currently in place until June 15th, due to low tourist reservations. However, the travel restrictions in the Comunidad Valenciana are set to be lifted on May 9, allowing tourists from other parts of Spain to visit the region.