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230 travel agents participate in Benidorm in the XVI Team Group Convention

 

• Toni Pérez highlights sustainability as one of the axes that has allowed Benidorm to be a leader and the first certified Smart Tourist Destination in the world.
• Toni Pérez addresses those attending the Team Group convention.

 

The sixteenth edition of the Team Group Convention is being held this weekend at the facilities of the Meliá Villaitana hotel in Benidorm. 230 tourism organizations and agencies gather at this important annual event that brings together professionals from all over the country.

 

The general director of Team Group, Ana Sánchez, has received the mayor, Toni Pérez, who has been invited to inaugurate the day, accompanied by the manager of the Visit Benidorm Foundation, Leire Bilbao.

 

The mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, welcomed those present to “a leading destination for Europe and the world” that “more than 65 years ago” opted for a word that is repeated many times today “which is sustainability.” 

 

Toni Pérez has detailed that of its 38 km2 of municipal area “more than 60% of the land is protected” and that, thanks to the fact that “we decided to occupy very little land and some sky.” The mayor has emphasized that "you are in a city in which the city is the tourist destination itself."

The first mayor has broken down the statistics for 2023 in which Benidorm “exceeded 15 million overnight stays in regulated accommodation” which represents 3.10% of the national total and highlighted the 90,000 beds available. Despite this, "when you visit it for the first time," he stressed, "you don't expect to find a free city with some of the best clean air in Europe."  

 

Regarding the urban fabric, Toni Pérez recalled that in Benidorm “more than 70% of the traffic is pedestrian” and has elaborated on the “sustainable mobility” of a city that has “more than 130 km of bike lanes and cycle paths, where we have , next to our urban beaches and its Bay, a great city of services and a huge green belt.”

 

Delving into the sustainability of the destination, Toni Pérez specified that "in the last 25 years we have reduced water consumption by 18%, taking into account that we have grown in resident population by 40% and in tourist activity by 26%." A city in which he waters his gardens “with regenerated water.” 

 

Toni Pérez has gone even deeper into the importance of sustainability, which “is part” of the axes with which “Benidorm drew up its Strategic Plan in 2015” along with innovation, technology and accessibility and with which it managed to be the first destination certified smart tourist in the world.

 

The mayor has also not left aside the hospitality of Benidorm that “makes millions of people happy every year.” That goes from its 72,000 registered inhabitants "to more than 450,000" in high season and has reiterated that "we are convinced" that "we will only be the best destination to come to if we are the best city to live in."

 

For all these incentives, Toni Pérez has encouraged the operators present to recommend the destination to their clients and get to know it for themselves by participating in the parallel activities that Team Group, in collaboration with the Visit Benidorm Foundation, has organized this weekend. 

 

Following the words of the mayor, Antonio Sánchez, from Visit Benidorm, made a presentation on the work carried out by the foundation to promote tourism in the destination and the convention continued with its program of activities with the presentation of new services and business proposals for the sector.

 

The convention will end today, Sunday, with a visit to a theme park and a tour of some of the city's tourist attractions.