The Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) launched its 2014 promotional and marketing campaign, starting with Madrid, Spain, according to a statement on Thursday.

The International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) Vice Chairman Alain St Ange (Tourism & Culture Minister Seychelles) and ICTP President Professor Geoffrey Lipman, attended last night's incredibly professional and entertaining Ulysses Awards Ceremony.

The world’s growing love of tourism grew at a record pace in 2013 according to the new UN World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) World Tourism Barometer despite economic difficulty in some of the world’s traditional source markets. Southeast Asia was the fastest growing region and Europe led all in absolute terms with an extra 29 million arrivals.

Among the hotel chains that will be attending FITUR 2014 in order to present their latest achievements regarding eco-friendly measures, we might mention the BlueBay Group, which raises awareness of good environmental practices amongst its guests, suppliers and employees.

The exhibitors at FITUR will also include a large number of companies and bodies that offer an extensive range of opportunities under the heading of health tourism. One of the attendees is Turismo Dental Tenerife.

The Tourism Business and Investment Forum for Africa, Investour, will stage its fifth event next 23 January within the framework of FITUR, offering African, Spanish and Portuguese bodies and businessmen a unique opportunity to collaborate on tourism initiatives involving investment in hotel infrastructures.