Orihuela City to Host Cruise Ship Conference to Highlight the Benefits of the City

Situated some 35 kilometres from the sea, the Palacio Episcopal de Orihuela will host the 7th Alicante Costa Blanca Tourism and Cruises Association Conference, an event that will highlight the city’s great potential as a destination for cruise tourism, a booming sector, and which will take place on November 14.

Presumably, the logic to host a cruise conference so far from the sea was because nobody in Orihuela would have the faintest idea where to begin to find a venue on the coast, either that or the fact that cruise ships couldn’t moor in the Orihuela Costa harbours, so it is best to just ignore technicalities like that.

But, back to the positive message, “The Department of Tourism is delighted and grateful to be able to celebrate the 7th Alicante Costa Blanca Tourism and Cruise Association Conference here in Orihuela. This opportunity allows us to show all the potential that our city has to attract tourism that is growing every day, such as cruises,” said the Councillor for Tourism, Gonzalo Montoya.

The Episcopal Palace will be the epicentre of these events, bringing together experts from the sector to analyse the latest developments and trends in cruise tourism.

For his part, Roberto Martínez, director of the Alicante Costa Blanca Tourism and Cruises Association, highlighted the importance of bringing this event to Orihuela: “What we are looking for by holding these events here in Orihuela is to show the tourist, business, gastronomic, commercial and historical wealth that Orihuela offers to attract cruise passengers to this city.”

These events will consist of two phases: a professional event and, subsequently, the celebration of the 2nd Gala of Awards and Recognitions for Tourism and Cruises at the provincial level.

The event will include talks, round tables and the participation of more than two hundred attendees, who will also have the opportunity to take a guided tour to discover some of the charms of Orihuela (Orihuela Costa meanwhile is jumping up and down, waving, shouting “hello, look at me, I am actually near the sea”).

Cruise tourism is having an increasingly greater economic impact on Alicante. This year, the arrival of 96 cruise ships with more than 230,000 cruise passengers is expected, generating more than 60 million euro for the provincial capital. This growing interest in the sector was the driving force behind the creation of the association “Alicante por el Turismo de Cruceros” (Alicante for Cruise Tourism) seven years ago, chaired by Francesco Balbi. The association, a pioneer in Spain, is made up of professionals and companies in the sector and seeks to energise and promote innovative projects around cruise tourism to improve the tourist offer of the province.

Some years ago, a small political group suggested a motorway between the Orihuela Costa and Orihuela City. Question: With that in mind, has anybody considered a canal?