Cantabria promoted travel to Paris the northern Spanish region. According to the regional government, the meetings were held in collaboration with the airline Vueling The direct route between Paris-Orly and Santander, which has operated since March 2026 and is due to continue in winter, was also a focus.
As the government in Santander announced on 13 November, the two consecutive events were organised by Vueling at the Spanish Tourist Office in Paris. They were aimed respectively at media representatives and tourism industry professionals. According to the government, around 20 representatives of the two groups took part in total. The regional government wants to raise Cantabria’s profile in the French market and present it as a year-round destination.
According to the government, Vueling operates the route twice a week during the autumn and winter 2026/27 season, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The French travel trade newspaper Le Quotidien du Tourisme reported that a meeting with tour operators and travel agencies had taken place in Paris on 9 November. It also lists two weekly flights for the winter.
At the presentations, the regional tourism company Cantur presented Santander, among other things, as a starting point for trips around Cantabria. According to the government, attractions included caves with prehistoric art, including Altamira, as well as pilgrimage routes and the Costa Quebrada Geopark. El Capricho in Comillas, a building designed by Antoni Gaudí, was also among the destinations presented.
For Vueling’s full winter schedule at Seve Ballesteros-Santander the regional government lists just under 100,000 planned seats. That is 9.5 per cent more than in the corresponding period the previous year. The figure covers not only Paris but also routes to Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca, as well as Alicante in January. It describes planned capacity, not the number of passengers actually carried.
The background includes a Cantur advertising contract for the Paris market. According to the published contract award data, Vueling was awarded the contract in March 2026; the contract value is listed as 600,000 euros. The regional government classifies both the presentation and the design of a Vueling aircraft featuring the tourism brand Cantabria Infinita as part of its advertising contracts with airlines. It does not state the individual costs of the Paris events or the bookings they generated.
Editor: Daniel Mayer (Article created with AI assistance).