A Spanish city with a “constellation of Michelin stars” and that is also home to the iconic Guggenheim Museum is looking to win over more travellers from Singapore, a market that is regarded as a “high quality one”, where people are well-travelled and have discerning tastes for destination experiences.
Bilbao Turismo, the department of tourism for the city of Bilbao in northern Spain, within the Basque Country, is in Singapore this week for engagements with travel trade partners and travel media. Its objective is to introduce the destination’s variety of tourism experiences, and to highlight Bilbao as a convenient launch pad to the rest of Basque Country.
Through a brief destination presentation earlier today, Zigor Bereziartua, technical officer with Bilbao Turismo, highlighted the city’s “surprising” diversity of landscape that is accessible on foot and by a well-connected public transportation system; “unique” history, culture and the arts along with its own language, Euskera, and traditions that are different from other parts of Spain; and vibrancy stemming from year-round live events, concerts and festivals.
“Bilbao also has vineyards, rich nature, rural tourism, adventure through climbing and trekking, Michelin-star gastronomy, quality local produce, and shopping for visiting Singaporeans,” added Bereziartua.
Travellers visiting Bilbao should set aside a “full 48 hours” for the city alone, before venturing onwards to San Sebastián and Vitoria-Gasteiz, which make up the rest of Basque Country. In all, Basque Country would give travellers a quality seven-day trip.
At present, Singapore is not a major source market for Bilbao – in fact, arrival figures are small, stated Bereziartua.
“However, Bilbao is not chasing large arrival volumes. What Bilbao wants are quality tourists who will appreciate what it offers – good food, amazing landscapes and nature, accessible vineyards, and a warm welcome from the hardworking people of Bilbao,” remarked Bereziartua.
He added that the number of Muslim-friendly restaurants is growing in Bilbao, and travel agents with Muslim guests can reach out to Bilbao Turismo for information on halal establishments and services.
When asked if protests against tourists and tourism in Barcelona had disrupted destination marketing for Bilbao, Bereziartua told TTG Asia: “Bilbao is about a six-hour drive from Barcelona, and travellers will find themselves in a whole different destination where they will feel very welcomed. The protest in Barcelona has no impact in Bilbao.”
Reflecting on ongoing overtourism concerns in some Spanish destinations, Marta Fernandez Martin, tourism counsellor for South-East Asia, Australia and New Zealand at the Spain Tourism Board, told TTG Asia that it was time for travellers to consider lesser-known parts of Spain, away from the popular Mediterranean coastline.
“First-time travellers to Spain would typically fly into Barcelona and then visit Madria and the south of Spain. North of Spain, where Basque Country is, is worth a visit because not many people are as familiar with Bilbao and San Sebastián. Travellers can also explore places like Cantabria and Galicia, which are less crowded and offer a lot of unique sights and experiences,” she added.
From Singapore, travellers can easily get to Bilbao on flights operated by Turkish Airlines. The airline flies 14 weekly flights from Singapore to Istanbul, where passengers can connect onwards to Bilbao via a four-hour and 15-minute flight.
Mehmet Akay, general manager, Singapore with Turkish Airlines, noted that with the airline’s extensive network between Istanbul and Spain, travellers can “easily build their itinerary with entry from one Spanish airport and exit from another”.
Turkish Airlines flies from Istanbul New Airport to five cities in Spain, and will launch daily flights to Seville on September 17.
