A CITY FOR VISITING

An attractive city

Valencia is currently one of the most attractive cities to visit in the international panorama. It is especially well-known for the paradigmatic urban transformations that have taken place in recent years, among them unique and internationally famous architectural projects (such as the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias) which have given the city a modern profile.

It has also consolidated its position as a destination for congresses, conventions and business tourism, reflected in the growing activity of its conference and Trade Fair Buildings. This has been combined with a range of cultural and leisure services that are both varied and of high quality. Key measures have also been taken to improve road and rail connections with the centre and the south of Spain.

As a result Valencia is now seen as a socially and economically dynamic city where the quality of life is high. Its growing international fame has given the city an urban development of its own, and the change and evolution currently being experienced will be a constant surprise for visitors.

For its varied range of cultural and leisure activities.

The arts, culture, science, sport, music…available to all

Valencia’s range of cultural and leisure activities is both wide and varied. It has developed in a unique way over recent years and now extends to 32 museums catering for a variety of interests including history, natural science, bullfighting, technology, folklore, plastic arts of all styles and periods, ceramics, etc. There are a further 50 art galleries and 20 exhibition spaces currently operating in various parts of the city. The cinema is also an important presence. The Festival of Mediterranean Cinema is held each autumn, and the Valencian headquarters of the UIMP is well-known for its courses and workshops for film-makers and enthusiasts. Outstanding among these are courses on writing for film and television which have been attended by the writers of several famous films.

Valencia also has 12 theatres and a recently enlarged concert hall (Palau de la Música) which every year hosts performances by the most prestigious musicians and singers in the international panorama and brings this cultural capital closer to the city’s inhabitants.

The cultural offer has been further amplified by the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias complex, designed by the internationally famous Valencian arquitect, Santiago Calatrava. Already in operation are the Hemisfèric (planetarium and IMAX cinema), the Museo de las Ciencias Príncipe Felipe, and the recently inaugurated aquarium, the Oceanógrafico, at present the biggest of its kind in Europe. The Palacio de las Artes, the final element in the complex, is due to open in 2005 and will be home to concerts, opera, theatre and dance.

In addition, the city offers its inhabitants and visitors the use of more than 50 libraries, 33 containing a total of 2,388,030 volumes and publications. For recreation there are more than 70 sports centres and 36 swimming pools.

A river that provides a backbone for cultural activities: CulTuria

Both the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias and the Palau de la Música are situated in what was once the bed of the re-routed River Turia, now the unique Jardín del Turia. This has its beginning in the Parque de Cabecera, a large park currently being laid out to include a Bioparque, a zoo, a Hall of Fame and the FIFA Football Museum, and extends beyond the Ciudad de las Artes y Ciencias to the sea. The Río de Cultura project unites the different cultural and leisure facilities located near the Jardín del Turia. Other museums and historic buildings to be found on either side of this "river of culture" are the Jardí Botànic (Botanical Gardens) Torres de Serrano, the Convento de Santo Domingo, the Convento del Carmen (which houses the Museo del Siglo XIX), the Museo de Belles Artes and IVAM (Valencian Institute of Modern Art), whose amplification project is truly avant-garde in conception and will make it one of largest and most important museums in the world, with 8,028 square metres of gallery space.

The "Balcón al Mar"

Another important project is the Balcón al Mar. Still at the design stage, this will transform the area of sheds near the port into a public space for leisure, sport and culture. To facilitate this, the Port Authority has ceded the site of the old inner docks, 237,261 square metres, to the city.

The design includes a floating platform for audio-visual spectacles, walkways and garden areas, shops, a leisure complex (including cinemas, restaurants, a gym, etc.), a municipal training centre for sailing and other nautical sports, Olympic swimming pools, car-parks, and jetties for the large cruise ships which will find the Balcón al Mar an ideal stopping off point.

A city for trade fairs, business and congresses

Now gaining a reputation as a cultural and tourist destination, Valencia has traditionally been a place for trade fairs, congresses and conventions. Some of the principal European institutions in the trade fair, convention and congress sectors are based here.Long before it was known as a city of leisure and culture, Valencia was a traditional venue for fairs and, more recently, congresses and conventions. Indeed, Feria Valencia organised the first Spanish trade fair in 1917.

The "Feria Valencia" (Valencia Trade Fair Building)

Feria Valencia is the pioneer fair institution in Spain and continues to lead the way as the most international institution, with the largest exhibition surface area and the most favourable business conditions for companies, professionals and the general public. Feria Valencia is the meeting point for supply and demand within the framework of the most advanced services and the most innovative infrastructures.

At present, the fair institution of Valencia organises over 50 fairs and exhibitions of national and international renown in their respective sectors and is increasing its offer with the creation of new events to meet market needs. In particular, Feria Valencia holds the most important events among those taking place in Spain, such as FIM - FIAM - DE>CO CEVIDER (furniture, lighting and decoration), CEVISAMA - MARMOL (tiles, sanitary ware and other elements for construction) and FIMMA - MADERALIA (machinery for wood and complements for the wood and furniture industry), which take up the entire fair ground.

The project for the expansion and modernisation Feria Valencia has been implementing during recent years will make up the largest and best fair ground in Spain. In 2004, it will have an undercover exhibition surface area of 231,000 square metres. The design of the new fair includes an increase in the number of parking spaces, with 4,500 undercover spaces and 2,500 in the open air, together with the incorporation of leading-edge technology in the infrastructure of the pavilions. In short, Feria Valencia offers a new way to hold fairs, do business in comfort and offer services at the very highest level.

Besides its fair-related activity, Feria Valencia also has facilities for holding and organising congresses, conventions, exhibitions, seminars, days, parades, presentations and other commercial, cultural and sporting events. As its distinguishing feature, as well as specific rooms and halls with different capacities, Feria Valencia has versatile areas that enable the organisation of events for up to 20,000 people.

The "Palacio de Congresos" (Conference Centre)

The Palacio de Congresos is a paradigmatic building designed by the English architect, Norman Foster. Opened in July 1998 and covering a total surface area of 15,581 square metres, it has three auditoriums that can hold from 260 to 1500 people, 9 conference rooms of different sizes, two rooms for multiple uses, a VIP room, a press room, an exhibition space, a restaurant and cafeteria. Outside there is an underground car park and a garden area with ponds.

The Palacio de Congresos is located in an area of great urban expansion, where numerous buildings are under construction, such as luxury hotels to satisfy the demand created by the
activities of the Palacio de Congresos.

Since its inauguration the Palacio de Congresos has been used for more than 800 events, attended by over 600,000 people. It has become a point of reference for several areas of business, as well as a place for concerts, etc. By 2002 it had generated 170.06 million euros of business. In that year alone, it was home to more than 181 events, attended by 68,500 delegates and with an economic impact of more than 52.17 million euros. According to a study by the Spanish Conference Centre Association (APCE), it is the busiest conference centre in the country. There are more than 130 events booked for between now and 2006.

A growing, high-quality hotel infrastructure

he increase in tourism over recent years has been reflected in the city’s growing hotel infrastucture. This is based on the development of a high-quality service which will guarantee that the increase in the number of visitors to the city continues. Between 1995 and 2002 there was a 50% increase in the amount of three-star hotel accommodation available, and a 126% increase in four and five-star accommodation. This increase will continue, given that numerous projects for the construction of new, and above all luxury, hotels are underway.

The results: The increase of tourism in the city

The indicators of tourist activity clearly show the spectacular development of recent years. Measured in terms of overnight hotel stays, this development has surpassed that of other Spanish cities with an established tradition of tourism.

Tourists and other visitors come to the city for the variety and quality of its attractions, some of which have already been described in this report. The cultural offer includes museums of both fine and modern art (the Museo de Belles Artes and IVAM), a rich historical and arquitectural heritage (pre-Roman and Roman, Visigoth, Arab, Medieval and Monastic, Baroque, Art Nouveau, Maritime, etc.), and one of the largest old centres in Europe.

There is also a wide choice of commerical and leisure activities, including unique buildings such as the recently restored Mercado de Colón, a jewel of Valencian Art Nouveau in the middle of the city. Tourism involving sport and week-end breaks are also becoming increasingly popular.

In addition, Valencia is now a port of call for an increasing number of cruise ships. Prospects for this kind of tourism are promising, especially in the light of projects such as the Balcón al Mar.

Other projects that will help to transform the city and attract more visitors are the future Parque Central in the heart of the city, the Madrid-Valencia High-speed Train Link, and the connection to the European high-speed train network, Valencia-Barcelona-French Frontier.

Business and Congress Tourism

Along with trade fairs, conventions and congresses have been the main components of Valencia’s developing tourist activity in recent years37. Since 1993 the number of congresses, conventions and conferences has increased by 312.3%. Between 2001 and 200238 there was an increase of 13.3%. It is also possible to see a growing "internationalisation" of the events held.

The Palacio de congresos has accounted for a large part of this increase in activity. In 2002 it hosted 25% of the meetings held, and was responsible for 47% of the participation at these kind of events in the city.

The positive effect on tourism of the trade fair activity also reflects the potential of the Feria Valencia as a place for innovation and product display.