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Vicent Grimalt's opinion: «Tourism, a permanent challenge»

03 December 2021 - 11: 33

Living off tourism requires a continuous effort of innovation, transformation, and adaptation. Contrary to what is often insinuated when saying that this or that municipality "lives off tourism", as if to imply that we have opted for the easy and unsurpassed path, this choice is a constant challenge that forces us, as an economic model and as society, to permanent reinvention.

And I dare to affirm that Dénia is a great example of the professionalization of the challenge of living from tourism. This weekend we will experience once again the great display of the D * na Gastronomic Festival: proof that tourist de-seasonalisation is possible if we put ingenuity and originality in our offer; the evidence that our city is much more than sun and sand; the confirmation that tourism is a specialization, within the possible economic models, which can and should be transversal, inclusive and enriching.

Logical consequence and at the same time the engine of take-off, consolidation and recognition of our appointment as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, D * na has managed to put Dénia in the focus of gastronomic criticism but also in the tourist agenda after the summer season . And the powerful tandem that they have formed, D * na and Ciudad Creativa, has multiplied the visibility and strengthened the confidence of a sector, that of the hotel and restaurant industry, which has spent many years working with very demanding quality standards adjusted to that tourism specialization that characterizes us. We are, indeed, GREAT TOURISM PROFESSIONALS.

This edition of the gastronomic festival also has them, the restaurateurs, as protagonists. The D * na will have two offices on the street, so that great personalities from the kitchen can share their experiences with us; But the soul of the festival this year is simmering in the establishments that have accepted the D * na challenge: to show that the excellence that Creative City has made us is born in the fields and the sea that surround us, in the traditions that are our essence and in the kitchens that have remained faithful to the affection and sustainability with which grandmothers and mothers made daily dishes.

With the invaluable help of the chef Quique Dacosta, one of our best ambassadors, and the support of Turisme Comunitat Valenciana –two endorsements that say a lot about the potential that expert eyes see in Dénia-, we have managed to make our city an option to visit during the long weekend in December; that Dianense gastronomy is a weighting factor when deciding which destination to visit; that the taste of a dish tasted in Dénia awakens the interest of diners to know the richness of the immediate natural environment from which the ingredients come and the history of this town from which its cuisine is also a heritage; that the youngest see in the hotel industry, the restaurant industry and the kitchen a solvent alternative for the future; that local producers regain hope and confidence.

We have achieved a lot, a lot. And to me personally, as mayor and councilor for Tourism, what impresses me even today, almost six years after the appointment of Dénia as Creative City of Gastronomy, is the enthusiasm and involvement of professionals and citizens in general in this project of reinvention, which is also, paradoxically, a project to recover pride in our most traditional identity.

Good weekend D * na! Thank you for making it possible.

1 Comment
  1. Ignacio says:

    Not everyone in Denia lives only from tourism, encompassing the entire population within that sector is the mistake. Pretending that the entire population lives from tourism because no other sector is encouraged is also a mistake, a tyranny and to lead the entire population into poverty If other sectors are encouraged, the economy, job opportunities for growth, evolution are stimulated. and wealth. Perhaps that is why they only want to reduce to tourism the opportunities to keep the poor, needy and enslaved area of ​​serving the displaced and foreigners.


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