Donostia San Sebastian Turismoa launches the “San Sebastian On Mode” campaign and prepares to offer a high-quality summer service

Monday, 13 June 2022
  • Donostia San Sebastian Turismoa is once again launching a campaign aimed at local, national and international audiences, encouraging them to discover the experiences and activities offered by small local businesses in the sector.
  • In line with the Master Plan’s deconcentration strategy, 41% of the activities offered will take place in the city and the remaining 59% will be spread across the region, especially in Gipuzkoa, although there are also outings to the French coast and other Basque provincial capitals.
  • With the aim of ensuring that San Sebastian continues to be a high-quality tourist destination, Donostia San Sebastian Turismoa is boosting its visitor care team and broadening its range of experiences in the city and region, in conjunction with its partner companies, all of which are local SMEs
  • A temporary information point is being opened on Paseo de Francia from 1 July to 25 September and it is extending the opening hours of the permanent offices on the Boulevard and in the Bus Station. Every day, from 9am to 8pm, there will be an information point that is open to assist visitors.

SS modo on

Donostia San Sebastian Turismoa is getting ready for the start of the summer, aiming to offer visitors a high-quality experience, in keeping with the stature of the city. Therefore, it is extending its opening hours to assist visitors in the Tourist Office, it is reopening the information point on Paseo de Francia and, using online tools, it is preparing a wide range of activities, products and services, both in Donostia/San Sebastian and across the region. These will be offered by local businesses that are partners of the entity. It will promote the destination and its experiences through the “San Sebastian On Mode” campaign.

In the words of Cristina Lagé, the Councillor for Sustainable Tourism, “San Sebastian offers numerous activities that are available to everyone: visitors and local residents, who have rediscovered our city over the last two years. Activities in San Sebastian and also across the entire region, because we have not forgotten that we are a common destination and this supports all aspects of sustainability.”

San Sebastian ON MODE

ss modo on carteles

Through this campaign, DSS Turismoa is inviting our visitors to discover all of the activities and experiences that the city has to offer: museums, guided tours on foot and on bikes, water activities or activities in nature, outings, group experiences and also private outings.

All of the experiences are offered by us and local partner companies, in the tourist office, temporary information point and in the online shop (shop.sansebastianturismoa.eus), with the aim of improving the experience.

Our own products include tourist cards (San Sebastian Card and Basque Card, which provide access to transport and offer discounts for leisure and cultural venues in the city), and transport for tourists (tourist bus and train).

The activities offered by local partner companies include guided tours, gastronomic experiences, outings to the surrounding areas, boat rides, sporting and cultural activities etc.

The online store's activities also help to spread the flow of tourists across the city and the local area. Over half of the products offered are experiences outside San Sebastian. Deconcentration allows us to highlight and showcase the outstanding tourism and natural resources in the region, it avoids saturating the tourist attractions and it encourages tourist to extend their stays, thus increasing average stays.

The campaign is running from 1 June to 30 September on digital and traditional media, on the radio and in specialised press, and the activities can be booked at www.sansebastianturismoa.eus

San Sebastian Tourist Office (Boulevard) and information point on Paseo de Francia

In addition to launching the “San Sebastian On Mode” campaign and broadening its range of services and products, DSS Turismoa is improving its service to visitors.

From 1 July to 25 September, DSS Turismoa will have a new information point on Paseo de Francia, next to the bus and train station, in addition to the Tourist Offices on the Boulevard. During this period, it will be open to visitors at the following times:

OFFICE OPENING HOURS IN THE SUMMER (from 1 July to 25 September):

  • From Monday to Saturday :09:00 – 20:00
  • Sunday :10:00 – 19:00
  • Bank holidays :10:00 – 20:00

DSS Turismoa website shows that international tourism is gradually recovering in San Sebastian.

In the last few months, following the health emergency caused by Covid-19, the number of visitors to the DSS Turismoa website has gradually recovered, even exceeding the numbers in 2018, the year in which the previous record was set: 94,000 visitors compared to 85,000 in 2018.

The online store keeps on growing year-on-year and sales have doubled since 2019. In terms of nationalities, it is worth noting that 41% of visitors come from Spain and around 60% are international:

  1. 33% France (18% in the same period last year)
  2. 9% UK (1% in the same period last year)
  3. 6% US (3% in the same period last year)

These figures show that we have a greater global reach than in previous years, even in 2018, confirming the interest in our local product.