Jet2 MD Ian Doubtfire with Gema and Agustin on either side

Yesterday travel group Jet2 held a press conference at the tourism office in the Old Town. The presentation was aimed at all those associated with the travel sector in Benidorm - one of the company´s most important travel destinations. Deputy Mayor and Tourism Councillor Gema Amor welcomed the delegation and all the hoteliers attending then the Mayor Agustin Navarro spoke of the immense importance that Jet2 has here  - there was actually standing room only!

To emphasise the significance of the region Managing Director Ian Doubtfire said that Alicante is the first overseas base opened outside of the UK, with two aircraft based here. The group offers two products - flights only and package holidays from Scotland and the North of England and Benidorm is the most important destination which they offer. They offer a staggering 60 hotels across their 5 brochures and this year are also including Albir and Calpe. They have only been operating here for 5 years but have incredible success - 43% of the capacity flies to Alicante airport and by 2015 the projected figure is one million seats... thats a lot of accommodation, which put a smile on everyones faces.  This Winter Belfast and Glasgow will become new permanent routes to Alicante.

Great advertising potential

They advertise heavily across the North of England in the national press, on the main television channels and on radio. In fact, this Autumn they have booked the prime slots during X-factor... the first 30 second slot will be for Jet2 holidays and the last 10 seconds before the programme goes back on air is a specific advert for Benidorm - which will give the resort huge exposure. We were actually given a sneak preview of the advert and it will certainly do wonders for us here. Hopefully the 49 aircraft which they have in their fleet with a capacity of 8445 seats will be heading this way! Jet2 Holidays are the 3rd biggest operator in the UK, which considering that they do not fly from the South is an incredible achievement.

With MD Ian and General Manager Janice Mather on end

Jet2 Holidays are a very important business partner for Benidorm - you always see their coaches running up and down from the airport full of holiday makers - and long may it continue. They offer a service which customers want - generous baggage allowance of 22kg (unlike a certain Irish carrier), 2 inches more legroom in comparison to other budget carriers and their own staff at the airports... something which more and more people are looking for when booking holidays - they actually have 112 ground staff at Alicante airport.

As the conflicts across Middle Eastern countries flare my guess more and more people will opt for a safe destination.... BENIDORM!