Valencia

Of the two million tourists who visited Valencia in 2008, nearly 100,000 of them came from the UK, making it one of the top European markets for the city. Valencia is now Spain’s third most popular tourist destination after Madrid and Barcelona and has gained the position as one of Europe’s fastest growing short break destinations.

Valencia saw a year on year increase of 10% in overnight stays by foreign visitors in 2008, with nearly 3.5 million bed-nights, 221,500 of which were occupied by UK tourists representing a 2% increase from the previous year.

Valencia has also maintained its position as one of the leading cities in the world for events. The city anticipates that its popularity will continue in 2009 with international sporting events, modern architecture, culture, food and the Valencian sunshine.

Valencian cuisine is a topic we have promoted extensively – see these two examples of recipes we have posted to the BBC Food website – for authentic Valencian Paella and Aqua de Valencia.

Valencia recently launched its new ‘Incredible But True‘ advertising campaign – take a look at the video below. You can also follow Valencia on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.

And if you are a member of the media, you can find everything you ever wanted to know about Valencia here.