With almost one million passengers per year, he Reus airport It is driven by tourism from the Costa Daurada. Thousands of tourists visit the Costa Daurada to enjoy its golden sand beaches, his Mediterranean climate and its tourist attractions, as Port Aventura and others Waterparks.
In addition to tourism, the Reus airport it is also important for the local and regional economy. Many companies depend on the airport to import and export products, and to conduct international business.
Also Reus airport is expected to play a key role in the future development of the region, by attracting investments and companies from all over the world.
Because Reus airport does not work all year
During the winter, Reus airport experiences a slowdown in activity as British and other European tourists rarely travel to the Costa Daurada during this time of year. The commercial flight season begins at the end of March and ends with the arrival of autumn, when the weather begins to cool down, although it is still mild. In January of this year, only 391 travelers passed through the airport.
“Someone should explain why it doesn't work all year. Lack of political and commercial will”
Despite efforts to break the strong seasonality, such as the opening of the season of Port Aventura in February coinciding with the carnival, and the opening of some hotels and campsites in Salou and Cambrils during the winter to attract sports tourism, Reus airport has not experienced a significant increase in activity during the low season.
It is expected that more initiatives will be implemented in the future to attract tourism throughout the year and reduce seasonality on the Costa Daurada.
Objective: more flights throughout the year
The Reus Chamber of Commerce is one of the most critical and active voices in demanding a more leading role for its airport. Jordi Just, its president, assesses that he would like Reus airport to have a faster march.
In his opinion, the airport should be a hub for the territory and not just a major airport, thanks to the great effort of the Strategic Taula and the goodwill with which everyone works. Just maintains that there is a lack of political and commercial will to make Reus airport work all year round, and that it is not a problem of people, since there is a great management team at the airport.
The territory maintains the so-called Strategic Taula active, which is made up of the Generalitat and the Tarragona Provincial Council, together with local administrations and the tourism and business sector. The organization was promoted precisely to try to promote activity and grow in destinations and passengers, aware of the importance it has as a gateway for foreign tourists on the Costa Daurada.
Noemí Llauradó, president of the Tarragona Provincial Council, explains that the objective is to deseasonalize as much as possible, as the entire tourism sector is trying to do. According to Llauradó, the airport is no longer so seasonal, since the season starts at the end of March and is getting longer. She is convinced of the importance of boosting the airfield.
The intermodal station, key to changing the future of Reus airport
The intermodal station will be the key to changing the future of Reus airport. This intermodal railway station will allow the high-speed line, regional trains and the future Camp de Tarragona tramway to be connected in the same station. Reus airport can also be accessed via a shuttle bus service in just seven minutes. The Camp de Tarragona intermodal station is expected to be operational in 2026 and some 700,000 passengers a year are expected to pass through it.
The intermodal station will be the key to changing the future of Reus airport
Despite the pandemic, Reus airport recovered in 2022 almost all the volume of users it had before the health crisis, with 911,000 passengers. Although the number of destinations was maintained, the connection with the Paris Orly airport and the link with Düsseldorf were recovered. However, the volume of passengers remained 13% below 2019 due to the decrease in British tourists, who are the main clients of the airport.
Optimism to achieve the goal
Tarragona's tourism sector is pinning its hopes on recovering English tourism and increasing the arrival of foreign visitors, especially from countries like Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France, the main sources of foreign tourists on the Costa Daurada. Although most French visitors arrive by car, the connection to Paris Orly airport, which opens on March 26 with two flights a week (Wednesday and Sunday), is generating excitement.
Tourism is the main engine of the airport, which currently has no connection with the Iberian Peninsula. There is only one national connection, to the Palma de Mallorca airport, which was recovered in 2022 and has been consolidated with two weekly flights (Tuesday and Saturday) that will be repeated this year from June 20. Air Nostrum's commitment to the Costa Daurada only takes place during the summer months, from June 20 to September 3.
Reus airport, along with the region, continues to seek new destinations to attract more tourists, although it is still far from its passenger record of the first decade of this century, when it exceeded 1.3 million users. At the end of the 90s, before the arrival of Ryanair, only half a million passengers passed through the Reus airport a year.
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