Holiday voucher to boost tourism

Valencia region to issue voucher of up to 70% of holiday costs

Regional government discount scheme for all residents in the region who book holidays within the area

IN an attempt to give the regional tourism sector a lifeline, the Valencian government will be issuing a ' holiday voucher' for all those registered as living within the region to encourage them to take holidays closer to home.

In the state of the region opening speech in the regional parliament on Monday, regional president Ximo Puig announced the voucher scheme as part of new measures to boost the regional economy following the Covid recession.

The Valencian holiday voucher will provide discounts of up to 70% on holiday bookings within the region, with a maximum of € 600 to be knockedoff the booking price.

Although specific details were not released, sources close to the regional government said travel agencies, hotels and other types of tourist accommodation in the region are participating, and it will be available in midOctober.

The programme, which has a budget of € 196 million, is aimed at helping the domestic market within the region, in line with similar schemes being applied in the UK and Italy to reactivate the tourism and hospitality sectors.

So far, despite Costa hoteliers demands, there is no nationwide holiday scheme and this year's Imserso plan ( annual holidays for retired citizens) has been cancelled ( see page 4) due to coronavirus restrictions and the age group involved.

Imserso holidays used to begin on October 15 and allowed many hotels on the Costa Blanca to remain open out of season, hence a similar scheme open to other age groups could be a lifeline for the sector that has been hit hard by Covid19 measures and travel restrictions imposed by other countries especially the UK.

Benidorm is the most adversely affected resort, as Imserso and winter bookings from the UK accounted for the vast majority of its winter custom.

However, figures show that holidaymakers living within the Valencia region itself are the main source of domestic custom, hence the regional holiday voucher scheme could encourage more residents to take more short stay vacations especially over the forthcoming bank holiday weekend in October ( 9 and 12) , November ( 1) and December ( 6, 8, 24, 25 and 31).

Travel agencies have also demanded this kind of scheme to save their businesses during the coming months.