Valencia targets the Big Apple

Following a raft of new destinations added to its winter schedule, Valencia has set its sights on more growth with New York its primary objective, according to a key figure at VLC Valencia Tourism.

Miguel-Angel Perez, the market manager at the organisation, was speaking to Routesonline following the successful creation of a twice-weekly Ryanair winter route from Manchester to Valencia. This new route alone could bring in 5,000 tourists and €3m to the city, said Perez, and is just a small part of its ambitious plans.

“Ryanair is operating eight new routes to Valencia this winter season and in total we have 14 new routes,” said Perez. “We added 15 last winter, so that’s almost 30 new routes in the last two years. It shows that airlines are definitely considering Valencia as an all-year-round destination.”

The third-largest city in Spain, Valencia is highly reliant on tourism, which Perez explains contributes almost for 15 percent of its GDP. Along with the new Manchester route, recent winter successes include Porto, Bari, Malta, Lanzarote, Warsaw Modlin, Craiova and Turin.

Perez said: “For these new routes we could estimate around 60,000 additional tourists. With an average of three nights in the city that’s a minimum of €36 million – not bad!”

Valencia is eyeing a host of new European routes to add to its roster, with Oslo, Stockholm, Hamburg, Budapest, Edinburgh, Athens and Naples all on its wish list. But it is further afield in New York that the city has its heart truly set as its “priority number one”.

It is a bold statement of intent for the city, which lost its direct route to New York in 2012 after four summer schedules. The Valencia (VLC) – New York (JFK) route was previously served by Delta Air Lines using Boeing 757-200 equipment, the only non-stop link from the city to North America over the past ten years, according to OAG Schedules Analyser.

And some of the numbers support Valencia’s ambition; the indirect VLC - JFK market is growing rapidly, rising by 50.2 percent in the first nine months of 2016 versus same period in 2015. However, despite this growth, yield has declined significantly with average fares falling from $379 to $261 during the period, data from AirVision Market Intelligence from Sabre Airline Solutions indicates.

Bi-directional O&D demand between Valencia and New York JFK (2010 – 2015)

Bi-directional O&D demand between Valencia and the US over the first nine months of 2016 is 79,000 passengers, or about 140 passengers per day each-way. The main connecting point via Madrid, but notable flows also go via Paris CDG.

Iberia and Air France carry the lion’s share of indirect passengers between Valencia and the US, with 15,693 and 15,313 in the first six months of 2016 respectively. American Airlines (9,606), Swiss International Air Lines (9,018) and Delta Air Lines (7,452) all feature in the top five.

Whether the figures prove a compelling enough argument for airlines to start a direct route remains to be seen. However one thing is for certain; the city won’t be short on effort and enthusiasm when it comes to stating their case.

“For the new route from Manchester we planned a presentation to media and trade, with the help of Manchester Airport,” said Perez. “Additionally we did a special promotion in Lancaster bringing a Falla [traditional festival construction which is burned], giant paella and a marching band to the Light Up Festival.”

“There are so many reasons for people to come to Valencia. We have over 330 sunny days, great Mediterranean gastronomy, huge cultural offer and events like VLC Boat Show, Moto GP, the marathon, and the Fallas in March.”