Now summer’s drawing slowly to a close, it’s perhaps the best time to take a closer look back at all that has happened over the past year and try to look at everything with fresh eyes.
For many people, September represents the start of a new year and, for them, the clock’s already ticking the seconds off to their next holidays. Here, at Secret Bilbao we’re absolutely delighted at the way things have turned out – though 2017 isn’t over for us yet (we hasten to add) because of the reservations we still have to (thankfully!) fulfil.
It seems that, with every passing year, we increasingly split our holidays into different seasons, which is perhaps the reason why Bilbao, Donostia-San Sebastian and the Basque Country in general are enjoying a substantial increase in the number of tourists who visit us every year. In addition to the autumn months providing us with an amazing palette of colours and smells, the mild climate we enjoy in our part of the world also lends itself to a plethora of popular street celebrations.
The year 2017 was – and still is! – a very important year for us. On one hand, we saw the growth and consolidation of Secret Bilbao as a tourist service and bleisure company, something that absolutely delighted us. On top of which, Secret Bilbao also won First Prize in the “Luxury Travel Guide Awards” for the company’s “Pintxo Tour” (PW: europeawards2016) in the “Holiday Tour Specialist” Section and this year the same company awarded Secret Bilbao the “Bespoke Tour Operator of the Year, Bilbao” Award (PW: europeawards2017), something we feel very proud of. Secret Bilbao was also voted “The Best Walking Trip of Bilbao” by the Culture Trip Website who thereby let it be known that it thought Secret Bilbao’s tours and excursions the best in town. We were even mentioned in a double-page article in the magazine and we’ve just been told we’ve been nominated for the “Travel & Hospitality Awards 2018” Prize.
And, just to top everything else off, Secret Bilbao also appeared in the gastronomic itinerary section of the “Bilbao Pocket” magazine published by the Bilbao County Council and Tourist Office as a guide for visitors to the city.
To be perfectly honest, just between you and me, I don’t think Secret Bilbao could have received more international (and national!) projection and publicity if it had tried!!
Of course, we’re still thinking up NEW itineraries and excursions that are going to be published on our Website very shortly. As our name implies, all these new ideas are “secret” right now. I can mention, however, that some of these new excursions will be connected with discovering some of the “secret” art that can be found on the streets of the city, but which the general public aren’t generally aware of.
For all the above, we’d like to sincerely thank everyone who placed their confidence in Secret Bilbao when they booked tours and excursions with us to discover some of the secrets of our land and who let us share our enthusiasm for the Basque Country and La Rioja with them. Quite apart from all the accolades and prizes we’ve been given, we’re happy just knowing you’ve taken a little bit of us away with you in your hearts.
Lastly, thanks to everyone for the kind comments and excellent reviews you’ve given Secret Bilbao on different Websites and social networks. The deep satisfaction they give us is more than any prize in itself. Mila esker! ¡Gracias! Thank you! Merci! Dank!
