The Provincial Tourist Board of the Granada Provincial Council has this week restarted its promotional activity in AVE cities, something it had been doing before the pandemic since high-speed train journeys to the city of Alhambra began in June 2019. The first location chosen for this new marketing action aimed at the public has been Cordoba, as its proximity makes it an ideal market in the still anomalous current situation, perfect for attracting tourists looking for getaways and stays in nearby destinations.
The provincial deputy for Tourism, Enrique Medina, explains that the promotion "is part of two agreements signed by the Tourist Board with Turismo Andaluz and the Granada City Council and is being carried out jointly with both institutions". It is taking place on 10 and 11 June "through a 'street marketing' action with the slogan 'Granada, one step away from you', for which we have set up an exhibition tent in the centre of Cordoba, on the Bulevar del Gran Capitán, offering tourist information about the whole province, small gifts and souvenirs and a prize draw for two trips, one of which includes a stay in the Geopark and the other in Granada".
After the crisis caused by the coronavirus, the Diputación de Granada has set out to regain the momentum of domestic demand first and international tourism second, once vaccination rates improve and people regain enough confidence to undertake long-distance travel. "A first step is to 'sell ourselves' in places from which it is easy to reach our province, such as those connected by the AVE network, and the journey from Cordoba takes little more than an hour and a half," summarises the MP. "This strategy is similar to the one we have been developing for years in the cities of origin of national and international flights, which we hope to recover soon", he adds.
Medina stresses that the action in the neighbouring city is the second, after Fitur, that the Tourist Board has carried out in person and in public since the beginning of the epidemic: "In the last year we have not stopped working on the promotion of Granada, but we have done so through advertising campaigns, attendance at virtual fairs and video conferences with travel agencies and tour operators".
The deputy said that the promotion in AVE cities will continue in the coming dates, in markets such as Seville, Madrid, Valladolid, Valencia and Barcelona. The aim of this week's action is to encourage the people of Cordoba to choose the province of Granada when planning their holidays and getaways, taking advantage of the proximity and convenience of the AVE.
The vice-president of the Tourist Board considers that for the approximately 50,000 people from Cordoba who used to visit Granada every year, our province is a destination of great interest due to the unequalled variety of possibilities it offers: "We are lucky to have a province with a wide range of holiday options: you can ski, see monuments, do rural tourism and, in less than an hour and a half's drive, enjoy the sun and sea on the beaches of the Costa Tropical with enviable temperatures all year round".
The stand set up in the centre of Cordoba is open morning and afternoon. Medina explains that, so far, the promotion is proving to be a success, with hundreds of people coming to the marquee and taking an interest in all the novelties that the province has to offer for their holidays". The deputy also thanked Cordoba City Council for providing the public land for the installation of the stand.