Old Town... cultural Benidorm

In order to promote the town of Benidorm, the Tourism Foundation have trained 745 UK tour operators and reps to improve their knowledge of the resort over the last seven month, so in turn they will be able to target customers and their requirements better. British visitors are the biggest and most important nationality of the tourism sector here and it is imperative to be able to advise them on all aspects of the resort correctly.

Plaque presented to Derren

The ITV Benidorm series has certainly bought the resort to the forefront of peoples minds, but many perhaps have a slightly distorted image of what it is really like. The programme is a light hearted tongue in cheek comedy - as writer and creator Derren Litten said "Benidorm is old fashioned humour made for ordinary people who want to sit down in front of the telly and, just for an hour, laugh and forget the rain, cold, floods and whatever else is being thrown at us in the real world". Oh how true - a bit like the old Carry On films, it is not true life but certain elements/situations are used and exaggerated ... that´s comedy!

Amazingly clean white beaches

Many think that Benidorm is just what is portrayed in the series - but there is so much more, which many do not get to see. Yes of course there are those that come here and just want to relax by the pool all day and party the night away - and what´s wrong with that? If you´ve been working away all year in 9-5 job, enduring the daily commute to work why can´t you just spend your time chilling... that´s what a holiday is for. Everyones idea of what makes an ideal holiday are different - I use to like sitting by the pool all day whilst my husband would sit in the shade and read a book or go off to explore, but we both still enjoyed it just as much as each other. I would panic that I was wasting valuable sunbathing time by having breakfast while the sun was out, obviously a rare commodity in the UK - but that was before I moved here!

I was reading a thread on Trip Advisor about the series (yes I still read it despite having been banned) and whether the programme has given a positive or negative reflection of the resort as a whole - and as you would imagine, it´s a real mixed bag. Everyones opinion is different as is to be expected and that´s exactly what it is, a personal opinion.

Neither camp is right or wrong but it has definitely persuaded people to come here - we ran a survey and asked the question "Has the ITV Benidorm series persuaded you to come here on holiday" and 62% said yes - so in my opinion it has had a positive portrayal. I am sure that many of those would never have even though of coming - as one respondent on TA wrote "We decided to try Benidorm after watching the early series and wondered what it was like as a holiday destination" and another wrote "I for one had never even contemplated Benidorm for a holiday until watching the TV show for a couple of years, thought sod it let´s go for it and have been going ever since" ... so in that respect its done a fantastic job.

Famous Tapas Alley

The Tourism Foundation are also endeavouring to show people that there are other aspects to the resort. The quaint and rustic Old Town, wonderful Spanish food and tapas - not just all day breakfasts, though if that´s what you want there is plenty on offer and a damn sight cheaper than back in the UK.

Moors & Christians

But the obvious attraction is the sun and beautiful sandy white beaches, of which there is a choice dependant on what you want. Levante - loud, busy and vibrant; Poniente - quieter and favoured by the Spanish; Mal Pas - small sandy cove at the edge of the Ponietnte and La Cala - another sheltered but slightly larger cove and great for families. They have some wonderful fiestas and cultural events throughout the year; February - Carnival, March -  The Burning of the Fallas, June - San Juan, September - Moors & Christians, November - fiesta time.... the UK hardly has anything.

The Square every November

From the programme many assume it´s just a few hundred square metres, full of British pubs and all day drinking, All Inclusive hotels and mobility scooters .... ok, fair point on the last issue, but one being addressed by the council. Every country and holiday resort have areas like that, even the UK, but there is so much more to Benidorm - try it, you may find that you like it despite trying very hard not to. Much like the famous Victor Kiam slogan "I liked the shaver so much I bought the company" - I liked it so much I moved here, as do thousands of British ex-pats every year.