IFEMA Brings the World Tourism Industry Together at FITUR

As it is now traditional, the first business and promotion forum for the world tourism industry will be staged in Madrid from 28 January to 1 February at the 35th International Tourism Trade Show.

Organized by IFEMA, FITUR 2015 is supported by the sector’s principal agents, the World Tourism Organization, UNWTO; the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism as well as the businesses and entities represented in its Organizing Committee.

The budget allocated by IFEMA to organize the Trade Show and to stage the different forums, platforms and initiatives that configure the agenda and the potentiality of this global sectorial encounter amounts to 10.5 million euros, of which 30 percent will go to international promotional actions and to inviting buyers (agencies and tour operators) from across the world. FITUR, which will attract to Madrid 200,000 visitors from around the world, including 120,000 professionals, will generate benefits for the city estimated at more than 200 million euros.

This new staging of FITUR, which coincides with the best tourism results in recent years, confirms the strong upswing of the sector and the Trade Show’s growth. In this regard, the major figures for FITUR 2015 are a total of 9,107 represented companies from 165 countries and regions.

The greatest growth is registered by direct participation in the Trade Show, which increases by 12 percent with 686 exhibitors, while the net area grows by 4 percent, with 56,233 square meters of display space. In addition, the national businesses area increases by 24 percent compared to the previous staging, and noteworthy in the international area is the increase in the Middle Eastern presence, which grows by 24 percent; Asia Pacific by 19 percent; Europe and Israel, both with increases of 9 percent; Africa by 2 percent and America, which grows by 17 percent.

Added to this is the positive note of seeing 12 countries joining with official participation such as Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia Herzegovina, Chile, Slovakia, Ethiopia, Philippines, Ghana, Iceland, Luxembourg, Sudan and Togo – which were previously present with business representation only. All these figures reflect the exceptional momentum of the tourism sector. It is estimated that 2014 will have closed with around 1.1 billion travellers worldwide and, in Spain up to November, with 61.7 million tourists, that is to say, 7.2 percent more than the previous year.

New specialized sections in FITUR
Diversification of business opportunities and competitiveness are hallmarks of the tourism industry. In this regard one of the key strategies is specialization, to which FITUR has been paying special attention through the introduction of specialized sections and forums that provide new avenues for business: novelties in 2015 are the incorporation of health tourism and shopping tourism through its two new programs FITUR HEALTH and FITUR SHOPPING, which will combine business offerings, B2B encounters and professional working forums.

FITUR HEALTH, organized jointly with the SpainCares cluster, seeks to respond to a sector with major expectations for development, as Spain will foreseeably reach a turnover of 300 million euros during 2015, a figure that will duplicate to 600 million over the following four years. At this first staging, a total of 15 companies from this sector will participate in FITUR, displaying their offering in Hall 8.

For its part, shopping is one of the main reasons for travelling. In fact, 50 percent of people who travel the world give shopping as the first or second reason for travel and, most particularly, in the case of tourists from emerging countries. Furthermore, in Europe shopping tourism moves around 13.5 billion euros, a figure that has led FITUR to drive forward the new FITUR SHOPPING section organized in collaboration with Madrid Shopping Tour and which, in Hall 8, will showcase the proposals of the 24 companies that have joined this first staging.

Platforms for internationalization, technological innovation and sustainability
FITUR also features other monographic areas to facilitate the development of business and promotional strategies, with special emphasis on the capabilities for technology, internationalization and sustainability that today put the spotlight on the future of destinations, businesses and tourist services.

This is the case of FITUR KNOW HOW & EXPORT (Hall 10), which highlights the most innovative solutions for the tourism management of Spanish businesses and developments and their potential for accessing markets abroad. Promoted by the Spanish +Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism through SEGITTUR and in collaboration with ICEX España Exportación e Inversiones (ICEX Spain Exports and Investment), the novelty at this third staging is the presence of Mexico as the guest country, as well as an Advisory Service for companies interested in doing business abroad, on the 28th and 29th of January.

Almost 40 Spanish companies are participating with products and services in which the new technologies applied to tourism take center stage. Another feature is a program of encounters on internationalization; the Smart Tourist Destinations project (on Thursday 29 January); Tourism Entrepreneurs (on the 30th) and New Professional Profiles in the tourism sector (on the 31st). In addition, the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism will announce the advances made in the Smart Tourist Destinations project, an initiative that forms part of the National and Integral Tourism Plan, PNIT, 2012 - 2015.

Also presented as part of this program, is the Tourist App Guide, with a selection of more than 150 national and international apps and the staging of the 2nd App Tourism Awards.

FITURTECH, in turn, hand in hand with the Instituto Tecnológico Hotelero, ITH, is holding its ninth staging with the slogan “The Adventure of Tourism”, travelling twenty years in time to show us the tourism of the future and recreating the era of the “Internet of Things”, the next major revolution of the Web, which will change tourism supply and demand and will revolutionize the relationship of travellers with the entire tourism value chain.

This event, which will attract some of the major international hotel chains, will tackle issues such as the influence of Facebook on the tourism sector and its evolution in the next few years, or the trend towards smaller and smarter devices, among others. The last session, Friday4Tech, will analyze the options available to tourism start-ups and technology entrepreneurs in supporting, developing and funding their innovative projects for the sector.

Also hand in hand with ITH, and together with the UNWTO, FITUR will organize the sixth staging of FITURGREEN to bring innovation an sustainability to the tourism sector as an avenue for driving competitiveness forward both in businesses and in destinations, uniting current trends with consumer expectations and demands. Also due to be presented at this edition is the 10-Year Framework of Programs on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns (10YFP), established by the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20),

In collaboration with Diversity Consulting, FITUR is also offering a business space to the gay sector, whose relevance as a segment and group of demand for the world tourism industry is increasingly powerful. The fifth FITUR GAY (LGBT) will be staged in Hall 3 and will also be structured into three areas: display, debate and work.

Spaces for business
FITUR will strengthen its spaces for B2B encounters, customized appointments and scheduled contacts agenda to facilitate encounters and exchange and trade possibilities. Among them is INVESTOUR, the Forum for Tourism Investment and Business in Africa, whose 6th edition will be inaugurated on 29 January by the Spanish Minister of Industry and Tourism and which offers a platform for dialogue to African institutions and businesspeople and the rest of the world, immersed in tourism internationalization and cooperation plans.

This program, promoted jointly by the UNWTO, FITUR and Casa África, has become consolidated as a gateway for launching joint projects between Africa and the rest of the world in fields such as investment in tourism exchange of technological knowledge and training and sustainability plans. 19 African ministers have already confirmed their attendance at Investour. In its past edition it brought together 269 participants and 134 projects from 32 countries, with the number of B2B encounters reaching 287.

In addition, FITUR B2B Workshop Hosted Buyer boasts an intense program of personal, previously scheduled appointments between participating companies and a broad selection of international guest buyers. In 2014 more than 1,600 appointments were scheduled, with 250 participants and 132 buyers from 35 countries.

Spain Global Tourism Forum, GTF
As a novelty, FITUR will stage the Spain Global Tourism Forum, GTF organized by TURESPAÑA. This is a world tourism event which, through the analysis of the impact and outlook of tourism on the world economy and society as a whole, will discuss issues of an economic and global nature that will influence the ability to develop tourism in today’s environment. The Spain Global Tourism Forum – GTF will be held on 27 January 2015.

That same day will also lead up to the 18th Latin American Conference for Tourism Ministers and Businessmen, CIMET, which will welcome a comprehensive representation of ministers and business representatives from this field.

UNWTO Program at FITUR
Again this year, the UNWTO’s contribution of content will be significant. Coinciding with the new FITUR SHOPPING section, the World Tourism Organization is staging the 1st International Conference on Shopping Tourism, which will reflect the growing weight of this segment in tourism and in the economy as a whole.

In addition, on 29 January, Casa Árabe and the UNWTO will be staging a Ministerial Round Table on “Policies and strategies for tourism development in the Middle East and North Africa”.

For the second consecutive year, FITUR will also host the UNWTO Awards, presenting the 14 finalists of the 11th edition of the Ulysses Awards for Innovation in Tourism, one of the three categories of the UNWTO Awards for Excellence and Innovation in Tourism. The winners will be announced on 28 January.

FITUR Awards
These prizes are added to the FITUR Awards, which for a long time have been recognizing the tourism industry’s efforts in its different areas: the Stands Competition; the Best Active Tourism Products Competition (in its categories of Nature, Culture and Adventure, International and the new Wine and Gastronomy category) and the Jorge Vila Fradera FITUR Tribune Award which distinguishes the most outstanding academic and research works in tourism.

Under the awards chapter, we also highlight the second edition of the FITUR Travel Bloggers Competition, which has been entered by 517 bloggers from 21 countries and in which the Chavetas Blog from Spain has been selected in first place for the quality, frequency and innovative use of its contents. Second place is shared by two blogs, one from Holland and another one from Australia, and third place goes to one from the United States.

Weekend
During the weekend – 31 January and 1 February – FITUR is also opening its doors to the public, with Minube organizing different activities open to potential travellers: the Travelling Gymkhana, the Travellers’ Meet-up and the Photography Workshop.

FITUR on the Web
FITUR’s positioning on the Web is climbing and continues to attract followers and prescribers to its channels in the different social networks. It boasts a total of 122,000 followers, far ahead of other industry trade shows (WTM, with 96,000, and ITB, with 40,000), with 74,500 on Facebook, 42,800 on Twitter and 4,680 on LinkedIn.

Halls and opening times
FITUR will take place from 28 January to 1 February 2015 in Halls 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of FERIA DE MADRID. From 28 to 30 January it is devoted exclusively to professionals (opening times from 10 am to 7 pm) and will open to the public on the weekend: Saturday 31 January from 10 am to 8 pm and Sunday 1 February from 10 am to 6 pm.

On this occasion, FITUR also coincides in its professional dates –28 to 30 January—with HOREQ, solutions for the Hotel and Restaurant Trade and Communities, which is staging its seventh edition.