The busy Tourist Info office in the Rincon

The image of Benidorm has unfairly and unjustifiably taken a battering this year from some quarters of the British press, and it is the responsibility of the Benidorm Tourist Board to rebuff these allegations. I met up with Yolanda Pickett yesterday, Head of the Tourist Board to discuss what her job entails and how she reacts to these sensational headlines.

Yolanda is certainly well placed in her position having worked in virtually all sectors of the tourism market - she has experience from the visitor side having worked for Thomson and also the hotel side after her time at Servigroup - therefore giving her a good all round knowledge of how the industry functions.

She has just returned from the World Travel Market in London, which is an important annual trade fair for the town. It is not open to the general public but one for those selling the resort to the public such as the airlines, tour operators, travel agents and reps. It is therefore critical that they have the correct information from the Tourist Board in order to promote what Benidorm has to offer.

Chatting with Yolanda

"The British market is the biggest and most important percentage of our visitors and it is thanks to their continued loyalty that Benidorm continues to survive and thrive... so we must be doing things right" she told me. "The negative press is disheartening and it angers me when I hear about it, but those that have been and keep coming back to Benidorm know the truth. In the vast majority of cases, those that write these negative comments have never even been to the resort" - which is so true. She keeps abreast of what is being said by reading the various travel forums such as Trip Advisor and answering any questions.

The family market is certainly well established and the Tourist Board is now looking to promote the side of Benidorm that many do not know about, such as the luxurious 5 star hotels, Gastronomy, Sporting facilities such as championship PGA golf courses and scuba diving - there is far more to Benidorm than just the Rincon de Loix, which is hardly ever advertised.

An important element is not to just sit behind a desk but to get out and promote the resort to as vast a market as possible, which can be challenging with the limited budget they have. She has travelled around various cities in the UK, recently representing Benidorm at the new Liverpool ONE shopping centre and only last month appeared on a Sky television holiday programme. They are also looking to newly emerging markets such as Poland, Ukraine and Russia and have a full time representative promoting Benidorm in the Moscow tourist office.

Yolanda standing behind Derren at presentation

Yolanda was a key figure earlier this year in helping me to bring the Derren Litten presentation to fruition, which was instigated by us at Benidorm All Year Round. With her fluency in Spanish she was able to explain the importance of the series and its contribution to tourism to the Mayor - who has not seen the programme, but was presented with a box set by Derren himself on the day. She was at the presentation translating the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Derren´s speeches to the mass of fans who came.  Filming of the 6th series begins in March, which is great news for Benidorm - every time the program is aired bookings for the resort go up.

She wishes all Brits coming to Benidorm this week to celebrate the towns fiesta a great time and to enjoy the Fancy Dress Day on Thursday - now another key date on the Benidorm calendar.