Over 97,000 tourism professionals attended FITUR 2003
The 23rd edition of FITUR 2003 came to a successful close Sunday at the Juan Carlos I Fairgrounds in Madrid, wrapping up a weeklong session of white-heat bargaining that brought hopes back to the leisure industry whose main companies showcased their products for the ongoing year to more than 97,000 professionals from 110 countries.
Such a turnout accounted for a 3 percent increase compared to 2002. Only over the weekend following the tradeshow’s opening, a grand total of 110,000 people walked past the turnstiles.
In this year’s edition –officially opened last January 29 by His Majesty the King of Spain- FITUR took up eight of the ten pavilions at the Juan Carlos I Fairgrounds where as many as 752 expositors and 9,970 attending companies from 170 countries comprised a total surface of over 83,000 square yards.
According to a press release issued by the fair planners, these figures outnumber those scored in 2002 and highlight “the interest and faithfulness of both attending professionals and the public in general. It equally lays bare that the response of the tourist industry is excellent every year.”
The awards in the country category to this year’s most outstanding stands went to Morocco’s National Tourism Institute, the Portuguese Tourism Office and the Puerto Rican Tourism Company.
Among Spanish autonomous communities, the Cantabrian Regional Tourism Society, the Madrid Community, Valencia’s Tourism Agency and Turgalicia walked off with the highest awards.
In the category of companies and entities, Avis Alquile un Coche, Spain’s Paradores de Turismo and Trans-Mediterranean Co. grabbed the lion’s share of prizes.
The absolute prizewinner of the Eighth Contest of the Best Active Tourist Product in the category of adventure was Sobron Aventura, an active tourism center in Alava (north).
Other awards were equally nabbed by Oficios Perdidos of Navarra and the Basque Country in the category of culture; Cantabria’s Alto Ason Cave Network (nature), and Walking Cyprus in the new international category.
