The President of the Alicante Provincial Council and the Provincial Tourism Board, Carlos Mazón , met in London with the Spanish Ambassador to the United Kingdom, José Pascual Marco, on Tuesday evening, to address the situation of British residents visiting the province, following Brexit, with a view to allowing them to extend their stay in the region beyond the three months currently allowed.
The meeting, which took place at the Embassy in Chesham Place, was also attended by the director of the Provincial Tourism Board, José Mancebo, and the mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez.
Mazón told the Ambassador that, “the 70,000 British residents in the province make a major contribution to our economy. They are also our best ambassadors for the attraction of British tourism to the Costa Blanca.” “They are fundamental, and, for that reason, we are working on mutuality so that they can spend six consecutive months in Spain, a condition that will also be applied to Spaniards when they travel to the UK”.
Earlier in the day the Community President, Ximo Puig, held a similar conversation with the Ambassador who confirmed that a Spanish commission will negotiate a legal arrangement with the United Kingdom to formalise the situation, so that UK citizens, including students, can stay without a visa on the Costa Blanca for an uninterrupted period of six months.
Both meetings took place within the framework of the World Travel Market in London, where the Valencian and Costa Blanca Tourist Associations were represented.
Main Image: The Spanish Ambassador to the United Kingdom, José Pascual Marco, with Carlos Mazón, José Mancebo, and the mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez.
