Say the word Spain, and for the vast majority of us, pictures of sun, sea and sand are conjured up. For the country's tourist authorities it's a blessing and a curse as yes, tourism is an important part of the economy with over 60 million visitors every year, but with the vast majority of them arriving in the summer months and staying in the sometimes overcrowded coastal resorts.
Turespaña, the national tourism promotion body is keen to explore and exploit other areas to increase revenue and to even out the discrepancy in visitors between the seasons. One way of doing this is to highlight the vast cultural resources of the country; history, art, architecture, gastronomy and in some cases the environment.
It's a difficult task – last year of 65 million tourists only 7 million came for the cultural aspects of the country, the rest lay on the beach in the sun – but one of the ways Turespaña hopes to do this is to promote Spain's World Heritage Cities as a 'package.' With 15 cities awarded this status by UNESCO, Spain is behind only Italy and China in the world rankings!
Within this select group of cities – Toledo, Cordoba, Avila, Segovia and so on – Ibiza is very special and unique. It's the only one which was awarded Heritage status for reasons of history, architecture and the environment – Dalt Vila, Sa Caleta and the biodiversity of the undersea prairies of Posidonia sea grass. It's also the only one of the cities which also has a mass tourism sector being famed for its beaches and night scene.
To get to the point, Turespaña have produced a fantastic video featuring all 15 World Heritage Cities called 'Ciudades que Amamos/ Cities we love,' and they've done a great job. Designed to stir the emotions, the video was filmed over 34 days and nights in summer and as you can see, the sights, sounds (shame they can't record smells) in this ever changing panorama of magnificent architecture, wonderful scenery, historical spectaculars, great art and fantastic regional cuisine show the country off at its best.
All of Ibiza's Heritage sites are featured, together with some memorable shots of wining and dining – see if you can spot them all! If you are planning a trip to Ibiza, do remember to come and visit Dalt Vila, its narrow winding streets, romantic plazas and stunning historical architecture, all contained within its might renaissance walls.
See you soon?
