New York (USA), Sep 6 (EFE).- Andalusia, in the south of Spain, seeks this year to become “the home of national and international sports”, and to consolidate itself as “the place in the world where the great events” of the sector, with more than 150 appointments, explained to EFE the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport of the autonomous community, Arturo Bernal, during an official visit to New York.
Bernal, who began an institutional mission in the US city on Wednesday to show the Andalusian offer in tourism, culture and sports, met with the president of the International Tennis Federation (ITF), David Haggerty, at who conveyed his interest in maintaining an alliance with the organization.
For the second consecutive year, the city of Malaga will host the Davis Cup finals, which will be held in November, while the Juniors category of the tennis competition will be held in Córdoba.
In addition, the finals of the most important women’s tennis tournament by nation, the Billie Jean King Cup, will be held in Seville and in Córdoba (juniors category) also in November.
In this sense, Bernal explained that the ITF has told him that they are very comfortable with the facilities and the support of the Government of the Junta, so Andalusia could continue to receive these events in the future.
“We are really partners in a long-term alliance and they are understanding it that way. Therefore, I think that we are very close to being able to achieve that goal that in 2024 and 2025, at least the Davis Cup and also the junior series are held in Andalusia”, explained the Andalusian counselor.
For his part, the tennis player and director of the Davis Cup tournament, Feliciano López, who has also participated in the meeting, positively considered the possibility of repeating the event once again after the success of the 2022 edition.
“There is a very nice synergy and I think it will be a relationship for the future,” López highlighted.
RECORD OF TOURISTS AND ENTRY
For Bernal, large sporting events are of special relevance “to attract travelers from distant markets, who demand very specific attractions and great interest for long journeys.”
In this context, he announced that the tourism balance of 2023 indicates that it will be a record year “in number of visitors and in income.”
According to the counselor, Andalusia this year has already reached the number of visits achieved in 2019, which until now was considered the best in the history of tourism in the region.
“In the first six months of the year we have already added 15.2 million tourists to Andalusia. And most importantly, it is not only the number of tourists that we have received, but also the cost or the average stay”, affirmed the counselor.
Regarding expenses, Bernal indicated that they are higher than those of 2019 and 2022 by 8 euros and 6 euros per tourist.
The origin of travelers is also diversifying, with more arrivals from the US and Asia, which are the markets that the Andalusian government is now concentrating on to promote the region as a destination.
ANDALUSIA, AN NBPA HEADQUARTERS OUTSIDE THE USA.
Bernal closed his sports agenda in New York this Wednesday with a meeting with the directors of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), with whom he analyzed the economic and media impact that the celebration of “The Sanctuary” has had. ”, a summer retreat (boral) for high performance players, in a training center in Fuengirola, in the province of Malaga, last July.
For the second consecutive year, this NBPA program has hosted an expedition of NBA players who developed, in collaboration with the Andalusian Government, training sessions, as well as training and cultural actions with the aim of generating synergies and consolidating the community as the headquarters of this association outside the United States.
For this reason, Bernal hopes that this initiative will continue in the coming years, which began as a trial, in which the former Spanish player José Manuel Calderón, who excelled in the US basketball league during his career, has participated.
“The agreement is about to be closed and my stay in the United States is precisely to work along these lines and leave those points ready for an imminent agreement,” he concluded. EFE
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2023-09-06 22:19:19
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