MADRID: The next edition of the International Tourism Fair, FITUR 2021, will be held from the 19 to 23 May next year as decided by IFEMA and the FITUR Organising Committee. This decision arrives following a meditated decision that, exceptionally, makes the event essential to the recovery of the tourism industry, at a time that will still preserve its high international impact as well as promote the professional reunion of companies, countries, and destinations. It will also provide a much-needed boost to the worldwide tourism activity.
The exceptional change of dates aims to facilitate the participation of all the main players of the tourism industry, at a time when the trade fair plays a critical role in tourism recovery. The meeting of the FITUR Organising Committee, headed by IBERIA’s President, Javier Sánchez Prieto, also featured speeches by the Secretary of State for Tourism, Fernando Valdés; UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili; the President of the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation, CEHAT, Jorge Marichal; the President of the Spanish Confederation of Travel Agencies, CEAV, Carlos Garrido, and the President of Mesa del Turismo, Juan Molas, among others.
For its part, IFEMA is presently focusing all its effort on presenting an edition aimed at contributing to the recovery of tourism at a time when FITUR’s role as a driving engine is critical and decisive. Therefore, it is highly essential to focus on optimizing its rallying power, alongside enriching its specialized content and new business niches, as well as promoting knowledge areas that contribute towards restabilizing both the national and international tourism activity, as one of the world’s main growth engines and especially for Spain, where tourism is the main sector, both in terms of GDP and employment.
FITUR is receiving unanimous support from Spain’s tourism industry and currently stands as the world’s second major trade fair, and first regarding its impact on the Latin American market. Each edition brings together over 11,000 companies from 165 countries, as well as official representatives from a large number of nations from around the world. It is also Spain’s major event for the tourism business, with over 250,000 attendees from around the world, as well as for innovation and promotion of new tourism segments, technological leadership in tourism management, and a tool for knowledge transfer.
Its high level of representation is also acknowledged by the support from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), with head office in Madrid; a bond that is also embodied in the Governing Board of Affiliate Members of the UNWTO which is currently chaired by IFEMA/FITUR. Its annual event entails an economic impact of €330 million, with the ensuing direct outcome on the recovery of tourism activities and boosting of the sectors linked to tourism in Madrid.
