On October 29th, the Aula Magna of the Gandia Campus of the UPV hosted the conference “The Tourism Destination Brand: Towards a Powerful Tourism Brand for Gandia,” organized by the Gandia Chair of Tourism and Promotion, with the support of the Gandia City Council’s Department of Tourism. The event brought together students, tourism professionals, institutional representatives, and local residents for an intensive morning of reflection on the strategic role that tourism brands play in the competitiveness of destinations.
The development and management of tourism brands has become one of the major challenges of contemporary tourism. In a context of globalized tourism, having a clear, coherent, and distinctive brand is no longer an option, but a necessity. This was emphasized by Eulogio Bordas, a renowned international expert in destination planning and marketing, who led the event. With over 45 years of experience and more than 800 projects, Bordas outlined the key elements for building and maintaining truly powerful brands, capable of generating long-term value and sustainability.
Tangently related to destination branding, the Economic Report for the La Safor Region, presented by FAES a few weeks ago, states that only “14.9% of businesses in La Safor have a registered trademark, above the average. […] Having a positioning means having a place in the consumer’s mind, that is, being on their shopping list.”
During his insightful presentation, Bordas explained the conceptual foundations of tourism branding, stressing that a destination brand is not limited to a logo or slogan, but must reflect a value proposition to tourists, shared by the local community. A strong tourism brand is the result of authenticity, consistency between what is communicated and what the visitor experiences, and the joint commitment of institutions, businesses, and citizens to a clear value creation strategy. The fundamental constraints are respect for residents and the long-term sustainability of the model.
He then detailed, with numerous illustrative examples, the process of building a powerful brand. It is a collective public-private effort that requires between three and five years of work. Ambition, technical expertise, and continuous process measurement lead to success, requiring, as Bordas emphasized on several occasions, a stable branding team and a considerable financial investment.
In the final part of the day, focused on tourism stakeholders in the municipality, Eulogio Bordas launched and briefly elaborated on some ambitious ideas for differentiating the area from other destinations. He emphasized that the aim was to showcase inspiring tourism products, providing the tourism sector and municipal officials with a frame of reference, but also highlighting entirely different options: Gandia Premium Beach (the best beach in the Mediterranean), Gandia EuroSports Region, Gandia Boutique Meetings, and Borja Experience.
The event also featured the participation of Balbina Sendra, Gandia’s Councilor for Tourism, Beaches, and International Promotion, and Pepe Marín-Roig, Head of Chairs at the Gandia Campus, who emphasized the Campus’s role as a meeting point between academic knowledge and practical tourism management. Both agreed that Gandia should focus on consolidating its identity as a high-quality, sustainable destination with a diversified offering year-round.
The economic importance of tourism for Gandia and the Safor region, both in terms of employment and the growing social practice of travel, compels us to continue leveraging both the increasing popularity of leisure activities enjoyed by Western societies and the growing trend of recreational activities during free time. To achieve this, a well-known and distinctive brand is crucial.
Gandia, as a leading destination on the Valencia-Benidorm axis, possesses enormous potential to strengthen its brand and project a renewed and contemporary image. Its diverse tourism offerings and high visibility in the Spanish outbound tourism market provide the foundation for reorienting its positioning towards a more competitive and sustainable model, a goal set for the next five years.
It is right that Gandia demands greater brand visibility and institutional recognition, while simultaneously continuing to improve its offerings and adopting a new marketing mix, targeting high-value segments that respect local identity. In the planning, financing, and implementation of the long-term strategy and big ideas, its governance must involve tourism stakeholders and representatives of the community.
Joan Carles Cambrils, director of the Gandia Chair of Tourism and Promotion. Professor Gandia Campus – UPV