The 26th edition of the International Tourism Trade Fair, FITUR 2006, which came to a successful close Sunday in Spain´s Madrid, brought together some 843 direct exhibitors and 12,065 represented companies from as many as 170 countries, all comprised in a net exhibition area of 86,857.5 square meters. Nearly 45 percent of direct attendants were abroad, with the number of official representations increasing by 15 percent. The fair facilitated the attendance of Guatemala and El Salvador, countries that were hard hit by Hurricane Stan.

The International Tourism Trade Fair, FITUR 2006, organized by IFEMA, staged the seventh edition of the FITUR-Jorge Vila Fradera Forum Award, which has established itself as an major form of recognition over the years, thanks to the high quality of the works that are entered. This forum has become a key reference-point for the tourist industry in terms of the in-depth analysis it provides regarding the current state of tourism. On this occasion, a total of 9 projects were entered.

Nepal attended the FITUR 2006 fair held in Madrid, Spain, that came to a close yesterday. Nepal´s participation in the FITUR-2006 was coordinated by Nepal Association of Travel and Tour Association (NATTA) under the Nepal Tourism Board´s sponsorship. Four Companies from Nepal –Dolpa Treks, Explore Himalaya Travel & Adventure, South Asian Holidays and Air Globe Tours & Travels- took part in the show. On the first day, the Nepalese exhibitors experienced a good response from the visitors. Nepalese delegation is being led by Mr. Ram Kaji Koney, First Vice President of NATTA.

Delegates from across the globe witnessed the resurgent travel industry of Blackpool, a British town located in Lancashire, as Jet2, the low-cost airline, and Blackpool Airport worked in tandem to raise Blackpool´s profile to delegates at the FITUR International Travel Conference in Madrid. The event was the first on the international calendar for professionals in the tourist trade and ran from January 25 to 29. It forms the cornerstone for the Spanish Tourism industry´s year and is a significant opportunity to boost both outbound and incoming tourism.

The Gibraltar Tourist Board exhibited its finest products and services at the 26th edition of the International Tourism Fair that came to an end yesterday in Madrid, Spain. The 75 square-meter Gibraltar stand, which was launched at last year´s fair, was this time around updated with new images and ads. Tourism Minister Joe Holliday said FITUR was increasingly becoming important as a selling tool for Gibraltar. “We are now beginning to see a more enthusiastic reaction from the Spanish tourism industry and it is vital that Gibraltar continues to be promoted in order to grow our share of this important market. Gibraltar´s stand at FITUR provides the tourism industry in Gibraltar with an effective platform from which to sell their products and services,” he added.

Spain´s FITUR keeps flexing its muscles and strengthening as the world´s number-two tourism and travel fair, trailing only behind Berlin´s ITB. However, the economic impact of the Madrid event is hard to assess, according to FITUR´s chief Ana Larrañaga. Recent stats revealed by the fair´s organizers lay bare that approximately 87 percent of participants to previous editions have expressed satisfaction with the positive outcomes of the tradeshow.