As Seville prepares to host Routes Europe 2025, the City Council of Seville’s councillor for tourism and culture, Angie Moreno, shares how the city is enhancing its air connectivity strategy, targeting long-haul growth and positioning itself as a year-round destination through sustainability, strategic partnerships and a clear international vision.
How are you working with airlines and airports to expand direct air connectivity to the city, particularly from key international markets?
We work on the connectivity strategy from a comprehensive perspective that combines market analysis, collaboration with airlines, promotion of the destination and flexibility. To this end, we have the Seville Strategic Plan for Air Connectivity 2023-25, which establishes strategic markets and allows us to optimize resources and focus our actions on objectives.
In this strategy, collaboration with airlines is fundamental, both with companies such as Vueling, Ryanair and Transavia, which represent a significant part of the passenger volume, and with those airlines that have not yet started operations. The strategy includes providing strategic information, customized incentives and promotional support to ensure the sustainability of new routes.
Promotion of the destination is carried out individually or in collaboration with the Junta de Andalucía and other institutions. But we have also carried out actions alone from the City Council in countries such as the U.S., Turkey and China, strengthening institutional links for and with airlines.
Thanks to our strategy, in 2024 we recovered key routes such as Basel and Stockholm, as well as expanding our network with new strategic connections to destinations such as Brive-La-Gaillarde, Bucharest, Istanbul, Mulhouse/Basel and Trieste. This year we continued to strengthen our connectivity with the opening of new routes to Copenhagen and Düsseldorf, consolidating our position in the international market.
What strategies are in place to attract more long-haul flights to Seville Airport, and are there specific regions being targeted?
Seville is an internationally recognized destination and has enormous potential for the development of intercontinental air routes. For Chinese and American visitors exploring Spain, the city has become an essential stop on their visit. That is why our strategy focuses on these two potential markets with which we aim to establish direct routes: the Middle East and the Americas.
In the case of the development of the North American market, two cities stand out for their clear potential: New York and Miami.
Regarding connectivity with the Middle East, the boom in luxury and business tourism from this region has led us to start conversations with Gulf airlines. Our efforts are focused on attracting direct routes that facilitate access to markets such as the United Arab Emirates, which in turn would boost Asian traffic, especially with China. As an example, the recent direct route to Istanbul, which has become daily, demonstrates Seville's great potential in this market.
How is Seville balancing tourism growth with sustainability concerns, particularly in relation to aviation and managing visitor numbers?
Seville's tourism growth is sustainable, especially since there is hardly any seasonality of demand, so the city has a stable demand throughout the year, avoiding the extreme peaks of other cities. This allows for better management of visitor flows and reduces pressure in peak seasons.
We also focus our efforts on responsible tourism: We promote tourism experiences that respect the cultural and environmental heritage, with special emphasis on cultural events, gastronomic tourism and off-the-beaten-track routes.
Sustainable mobility is also a strategic point of tourism management in the city. Efficient transport alternatives are being promoted to connect Seville with other regions of Andalucía in addition to facilitating sustainable travel within the city.
Seville has a strong appeal as a cultural and historical destination. How are you working to diversify tourism offerings to attract different traveler segments?
Seville has developed initiatives focused on different traveller profiles. For example, the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) segment has experienced an upward trend. The figures point to an increase of more than 18% in terms of business attraction and economic impact, compared to the same period last year.
The premium segment is another key focus. The supply of luxury hotels has transformed the city. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of boutique hotels, high-end gastronomy and exclusive experiences to attract travelers with high purchasing power.
Another strength of our city is its position as a regional gateway to the active and nature tourism segment. Seville is a starting point for hiking, cycling and excursion routes in Andalucía but also in the south of Portugal or even Extremadura, taking advantage of the proximity to natural parks and the Costa de la Luz.
And finally, there is the potential of our city to host large international events. Seville has shown in recent years that it is capable of hosting events at the highest level: the Latin Grammys in 2023, Los Goya 2023 and other events help to consolidate the city as a place for celebrations.
How are you collaborating with tourism boards, local businesses and travel organizations to strengthen the city’s position as a year-round destination?
Seville works closely with the Junta de Andalucía and other institutions to strengthen its connectivity strategy. To this end, for example, joint promotion is carried out with coastal destinations, facilitating city/beach combinations.
We are also developing international marketing campaigns: Specific strategies have been developed in European and North American markets to position Seville as an attractive destination in any season—but also with the Chinese market, with which we are currently implementing an innovative marketing campaign with Mastercard and Bank of China.
And, of course, alliances with the private sector: We work with hotels, travel agencies and airlines to launch tourist packages and promotions that encourage the arrival of visitors in months of lower demand.
With business travel and MICE tourism growing, what initiatives are in place to attract more corporate travelers?
Business tourism is very important for Seville and, as I said, it has experienced exponential growth in the last year.
The main initiative that has been carried out is the development of quality infrastructure. We are fortunate that Seville has modern venues for [conferences] and events, such as FIBES, the Seville Exhibition and Conference Centre, which will host Routes Europe 2025, and many hotels with high capacity for business events.
Along the same lines, we are working to improve air connections with European hubs, in order to facilitate the arrival of business travelers.
On the other hand, we are working hard to attract international events. We are hosting congresses and trade fairs specializing in strategic sectors such as aerospace, technology and tourism. And in turn, we are encouraging the attraction of MICE events, offering support programs and benefits for event organizers who choose Seville as their venue.
What are the biggest opportunities and challenges for Seville in terms of tourism and air service development over the next five years?
We have done a good job, but we still have a long way to go. We have opportunities such as the growth of long-haul tourism, as I mentioned, from North America to New York and/or Miami and the Middle East, especially with the UAE and Qatar, and the consolidation of the route to Istanbul.
Another opportunity we have is the growth of Seville in the MICE, corporate and luxury segment. And finally, the great opportunity represented by the development of Seville as a gateway to a large geographical region.
And in terms of challenges, we must increase airport capacity and improve infrastructure; we must also continue to position our destination and its uniqueness to access the sun and beach segment which, due to its proximity, can complement us.
We also have the strength that Seville has been recognized as the Best European Airport by the Airports Council International (ACI) in its category—of between five and 15 million passengers per year—for the quality of the services it offers to users. This is the second time that ACI has distinguished the Sevillian facilities after 2017.
And finally, and almost the most important challenge facing Seville—which is a global challenge and common to other tourist destinations—is to be able to maintain a balance between tourism growth and sustainability.
What is your main message to Routes Europe delegates?
Our message to the delegates is clear: Seville is ready to continue growing as a key hub in Europe. Our city has been chosen to host Routes Europe 2025 because it is a growing destination with great connectivity potential.
The city's efforts are primarily focused on developing long-haul routes to the U.S and the Middle East, as well as continuing to grow in markets such as Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. Routes Europe will undoubtedly be a great opportunity to continue working in this direction.
We want to demonstrate during Routes Europe that Seville can be the gateway to Andalucía, Extremadura and southern Portugal and that it offers a unique combination of tourism, business, [conferences] and sustainability. It is a destination with stable demand throughout the year and capable of attracting top-level international events. All these reasons make Seville a very interesting destination for companies, and that is what we would like participants to see.
Seville is a perfect strategic point for airlines and airports looking to develop new routes, with the support of market analysis, incentives and joint promotional campaigns. Routes Europe 2025 is an opportunity to showcase all that Seville has to offer.
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