Valencia – Spain | Best City Break Destination by Condé Nast Traveler's

 

Valencia, third largest city and metropolitan area in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona, capital of the province of the same name and of the Valencian Community which stands on an an wide gulf along the Spanish central - eastern coast of the Mediterranean on the mouth of the Turia River, city with a very rich historic, artistic and cultural heritage has been named Best City Break Destination at Readers'Choice Awards 2024 by Condé Nast Traveler's.

This nomination comes from over 125.000 readers of the prestigious Traveler magazine of Great Britain well known for its focus on travel & tourism who placed Valencia as the best city destination on the European continent and in third position in the ranking of the friendliest destinations in Europe.

The popular vote that determined the ranking of 20 cities for this important nomination saw Valencia excel in front of European capitals of great charm and popularity such as Amsterdam, Berlin, Lisbon, Madrid, Rome and Vienna, and for all interested parties the various classifications of all sections are available on the Traveler website.

These awards which are presented in Great Britain and other countries where the publishing house Condé Nast has delegations, are considered a symbol of excellence in the tourism sector and for the selected destinations it is a very significant result to appear in any of the categories that this seal assigns in a nomination with various candidates where the competition is always very tight.

According to the publisher, Valencia is a city that is probably experiencing its best period in today's times, explaining how the third largest city in Spain has been able to transform an old riverbed into a beautiful and bucolic urban park, making reference to the Jardin del Turia - Public Park which spans approximately 136 hectares, an enormous green space stretching over 9.0 kilometres, opening trendy rooftop bars, trying and succeeding to innovate and also renew itself in its essence to become according to the readers the best city destination for a holiday in Europe in 2024.

The publisher awards airports, airlines, countries, hotels, beaches, destinations and cities preferred by readers and in the ranking that brought together the most welcoming cities in Europe Valencia was positioned in third position only behind the Swedish capital Stockholm and Budapest, capital of Hungary.

The recognition of Condé Nast Traveler adds to the inclusion of Valencia in the green list of Wanderlust, another of the most prestigious publications in the United Kingdom which highlights the world's trailblazing destinations when it comes to sustainable travel which for over three decades has carefully selected the various proposals and several most authentic and responsible ecological destinations in the world for committed travellers.

This positioning of Valencia as a sustainable destination that appears in the UK market is undoubtedly the result of the optimal strategies that the Visit València foundation developed to introduce itself in Great Britain at the end of 2023, a period that coincided with the status of European Green Capital.

Visit València carefully developed a meticulous step-by-step roadmap by carrying out various actions such as an information lunch, participation in the Sustainability Day in Spain organized by the Turespaña Office in London, relevant press trips and negotiations with the BBC, Condé Nast Traveler, National Geographic, Lonely Planet, The Guardian, The Independent,  has brought excellent results.

Thanks to all that planned work, more than 50 reports with an estimated advertising value of more than €117 million have been published in Great Britain.

This year Valencia was chosen from among 1.000 candidates along with other relevant destinations such as Belize, Cayman Islands, Scotland, Slovenia, Colorado - U.S., Bordeaux - France, Calgary - Canada, Rimini - Italy, Vienna - Austria and Zurich - Switzerland and to be selected as Best City Break Destination by Condé Nast Traveler's is of course a prestigious achievement.

Link  https://www.expreso.info/noticias/espana/102843_conde_nast_elige_valencia_como_mejor_ciudad_europea

Helsinki – Finland | World's Most Sustainable Destination

 

Helsinki, capital and most populous city in Finland situated on the on a scenic peninsula on the shore of the Gulf of Finland in the southern Uusimaa region, highlighted by its superb neoclassical buildings and captivating squares has been named the most sustainable destination in the world in the latest GDS Global Sustainability Index published on 16th october 2024.

The Global Destination Sustainability Index, which measures the sustainability of destinations in four different categories using more than 70 indicators, after a meticulous analysis comparing more than a hundred cities around the world that have invested in sustainability, crowned Helsinki as queen of sustainability as global destination, taking into consideration the Finnish city had already achieved excellent results in the past in the GDS index, placing itself fourth in the ranking in 2023.

The Mayor of Helsinki Juhana Vartiainen expressed with enthusiasm this achievement commenting that being named as the most sustainable travel destination in the world is proof and confirmation of the long-term hard work that has been done for the city that has given this excellent result, with the institutions that together with operators in the tourism sector and local residents are growing tourism in a sustainable way.

The GDS, Global Destination Sustainability Index, essentially assesses sustainability in four key areas, such as destination management, environmental performance, social performance and supplier performance, and Helsinki has traditionally performed very well in the denominators of the index in all key points, particularly in environmental performance at city level.

In the ranking the Finnish capital ranked first in destination management, supplier performance and environmental performance and second in social performance.

Helsinki has long invested in improving the social sustainability of tourism, assiduously supporting local businesses on their path towards sustainability by increasing resources for the development of tourist destinations.

The Finnish capital's Director of Tourism Nina Vesterinen commented that specific and accurate international studies show that travellers are increasingly looking for more sustainable services and destinations and in the future there will undoubtedly be an increase in demand for the most sustainable destination in the world.

The Helsinki strategy has set itself as its primary objective to be the most sustainable and intelligent tourist destination, working through an action plan for climate and tourism and the objective was to achieve the first position in the Global Destination Sustainability Index by 2025 at a later date.

In addition to tourism, Helsinki is committed to reducing emissions in all its activities, with a priority goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.

The carbon neutrality targets will be achieved in particular by increasing the share of renewable energy in the production of heat and electricity as well as by adopting optimal energy efficiency measures in buildings.

Helsinki has also invested in low-emission transport solutions and more than 30% of the bus fleet in the metropolitan region has been electrified and in addition more than 30 kilometres of new trams will be introduced in the city during the next decade.

The Finnish capital has several projects and measures underway related to sustainability, in terms of tourism. The most important are considered to be the development of inclusive tourism with further investments in the participation of residents in the development of tourism.

Helsinki accurately measures the carbon footprint of tourism, meticulously promotes the climate action plan and supports tourism companies in the appropriate path towards sustainable travel and is also interested in close collaboration with other tourist destinations nationally and even internationally.

 

Link - https://dailyweb.com.ar/noticias/val/49238/helsinki-fue-nombrado-el-destino-mas-sustentable-del-mundo.html

Melo - Uruguay | New International Airport Inaugurated with $12 Million Investment

 

Melo, the capital city of the Cerro Largo Department in the north - western Uruguay, located on the banks of the Arroyo Conventos stream, a tributary of Tacuari River, 58 kilometres from the border with Brazil and 400 kilometres northeast of the capital of the country Montevideo, inaugurated its new international airport in the presence of President Luis Lacalle Pou, demonstrating the commitment of the Multicolor coalition to the development and strengthening of the air connectivity of the country.

The renovation of the air terminal was part of the operations of the National System of International Airports with an investment of $12 million.

The renovation of the airport has involved the adaptation of the passenger terminal to international operational and service safety standards, as well as the repaving of the main runway, a new taxiway and platform.

In addition to road and perimeter fence were also built and visual aid systems, LED runway lighting and LED platform lighting were installed.

Other relevant works were the construction of a fully equipped fire station and a detachment developed for the National Air Police as well as new communications equipment and a perimeter fiber optic ring were installed with also the creation of a fuel plant and a meterorological station.

During the inauguration ceremony, President Lacalle Pou wanted to thank the people of the departmental and national government and the company who have put with their will and ability to dream and think about the future with the inauguration of this airport.

The President commented that with the launch of this airport, the far northeast of Uruguay is now not so far away and will continue to become a place of attraction, generating a pole of attraction with Brazil so close and it will be important to increase the export operations of the free zones representing a substantial change in the business matrix to generate more investment opportunities in the Cerro Largo Department.

The President then underlined the virtuous and trusting relationships that have made it possible to sign agreements between the National Government and the América Airports Corporation, manager of the airport terminal, thinking not only of the airport but also of the planned bridge over the Yaguarón River.

The Head of the Executive as further works also addressed the dredging of the San Gonzalo Canal which connects the Los Patos and Merin lagoons and will allow the development of two two port terminals, one on the Cebollati river and another at the mouth of the Tacuari River in the Merin lagoon.

The President then added that Cerro Largo department with all these development works that change the scenario will no longer have to look only west or south to export its products.

Melo Airport is currently the fourth air terminal modernized by the Corporación América Aeropuertos which is part of the development plan of the International Airports System.

This initiative started in December 2022 from the town of Carmelo, a town on the Rio de la Plata in western Uruguay, then continued with Rivera center on the border with Brazil facing the city of Santana do Livramento where the first binational terminal in Latin America and the second in the world was developed.

A further one was developed in Salto, city in northwestern Uruguay bordering Argentina inaugurated in February 2024 and it is planned to continue in Paysandú, a well-known city on the border with Argentina and Durazno, city in the centre of the country on the left bank of the Yi River where work is already underway.

Link - https://es.mercopress.com/2024/10/16/uruguay-inauguran-aeropuerto-internacional-de-melo