FITUR 2016 Comes to a Close with Record Highs

Just a few hours away from closing the International Tourism Fair, FITUR, organized by IFEMA from 20 to 24 January at Feria de Madrid, its 36th edition is closing with the best figures ever and with a high rating for the quality and qualification of the contacts.

FITUR is thus again registering a new participation record, which coincides with the best figures for the tourism industry in Spain and on a global scale.

This means that, during the five days of the Trade Show, estimations are that it will have received a total of 231,872 visitors (professionals and public), representing growth of 6 percent. Particularly noteworthy is the professional participation, with 124,659 visitors and 2 percent growth, consolidating the high levels of international representation that in its two previous editions threw up growth figures of 7 percent and 12 percent respectively.

To this we must add the growth experienced in attendance by the general public during the weekend, which is estimated to stand at above 10 percent, up to 107,213 visitors. Thanks to these results, IFEMA raises the figure for the economic impact this major event has had on Madrid, in excess of 210 million euros.

Taking just the impact generated by the FESTITUR program organized by Noche Madrid, it has registered 170,660 outings and 12.1 million euros in expenditure on leisure venues, gastronomy and shows.

FITUR has also registered a record in business participation. A total of 9,605 companies have participated, an increase of 3.4 percent. Particularly relevant here was the greater progress made in the participation of international businesses, which grew by 4 percent against 3.1 percent in national growth.

Equally, a significant increase was seen in direct business participation. Present at this staging were 711 main stand holders – businesses, institutions and organizations–, representing 3 percent growth, with the incorporation of 178 new businesses, of which more than 50 percent are international.

Growth was also seen in the countries present at the Trade Show, 165, with 16 reinstatements with official participation, among them the Netherlands, Indonesia, Puerto Rico, Belize and Guinea, and the new joins of Burkina Faso, which came with official representation for the first time, and Latvia, participating with a business group.

A positive balance, in line with the highly favorable rating merited by the professional qualification and quality of the contacts, something confirmed by the 25 percent growth experienced in the volume of business appointments scheduled and arranged at FITUR, up to 6,200 appointments.

There’s also confirmation not only of FITUR’s leadership for Latin American countries but also, and gradually on the rise, for the countries from the African continent, both of them markets to which the Trade Show offers its strategic potential for gaining access to Europe’s tourism business.

This is confirmed by the participation of 42 countries from Latin America and 44 from Africa, a figure that grows year by year driven by the INVESTOUR program organized jointly with the UNWTO and Casa África and which has gathered together at its forums and business workshops 21 ministers, 350 participants, 99 investment projects and 115 scheduled appointments.

Also contributing to these figures and the climate of optimism observed at FITUR 2016 were the high levels of national and international institutional support received, with the presence of high representations and dignitaries. Since the trade show was inaugurated by the Queen of Spain on Wednesday 24 January, FITUR has welcomed 80 ministers and leading heads of tourism from the five continents.

Furthermore, representing the highest State institutions as well as the Spanish Government and the governments of the Autonomous Regions, the trade show was attended by the President of the Government; the President of Congress, the Ministers of Industry and Tourism, of Culture, of Development and of Justice, as well as a high presence of regional Presidents and Councilors of Autonomous Governments.

Moreover, FITUR is again confirmed as a standard in the tourism industry on Social Media and was the Trending Topic on its first day. It again broke its audience and impact record – which is far ahead of the major benchmark industry trade shows.

More than 150,000 international followers on the principal social platforms, 64 million users reached on Twitter; more than 35,000 tweets with the #FITUR2016 and #FITUR hashtag and more than 16,000 users retweeting about FITUR.

Another significant sign of the outstanding international relevance of FITUR 2016 was the number of accredited journalists, 7,083 of them from 48 countries, plus a total of 491 bloggers.