A commitment to aquatic tourism
Nautical tourism has been the central theme of all the presentations that focused their efforts on analyzing the strategic value of water sports as one of the main drivers of the tourism sector. Over the last few decades we have been lucky enough to attract thousands of tourists every year thanks to the sun and beaches, but today it is not enough.
This, added to the tourist offer both in other places in the national territory and worldwide, the EVCV Congress proposed ways to attract and retain the tourists who come to its coasts every year. They explained that it is no longer enough to maintain the same tourist offer model as until now, so we should focus on outdoor sports and active tourism.
The Valencian Community has ideal beaches for practicing water sports and the best thing that can be done to enhance the resources available to it is a joint effort between the Autonomous Government and the Community Councils. They stated that only by working as a team and promoting the creation of spaces for the practice of sports can the quantity and quality of tourism be improved.
The speakers assured that there are many sailing companies that would be interested in collaborating to expand their businesses but that, unfortunately, the municipalities do not provide the concessions that would need or do not pay special attention to the innovative projects that are presented to them. It even seems that those young entrepreneurs who bring them new ideas cannot carry them out.
Kitesurfing as the most practiced sport
Of all the water sports practiced in the Valencian Community, kitesurfing is the one that has the most followers and has achieved the most expansion in the last decade. In the '90s there were practically no kites on the coasts, but today there are thousands of athletes who practice it every year, increasing exponentially.
As commented at the Congress, some kitesurf schools have presented improvement projects to the town councils without receiving a response, despite the number of kilometers of beach that are "left over" on the Valencian coast. Its intention is to create specific areas for kiting but the city council considers that this action could disturb sedentary tourism.
Such is the case that many athletes who try to practice it have received fines from the competent authorities and many other riders go every year to Spanish destinations such as Tarifa and the Canary Islands or to international destinations where the practice of this sport is allowed. like Brazil, Morocco or the Caribbean.
More than 50 sailing schools in the Valencian Community and the speakers discussed the importance of nautical tourism as another form of tourism that needs to be promoted.
