The international tourism fair, Fitur, which starts today and will last until next Sunday, January 28, in Ifema, (Madrid) presents great new features in its 44th edition. It will have 152 different countries, with Ecuador as a partner country, and about 9,000 companies. It will be inaugurated this morning by the Kings of Spain and other authorities of the capital.
It is expected that some 250,000 attendees will attend, of which 150,000 will be professionals in the sector and 100,000 from the general public, who visit with the aim of obtaining information about new vacation destinations.
This year, many new developments are presented by companies, as well as secret places to visit by autonomous communities and different countries.
As a novelty, for the first time, the Vincci Hoteles hotel chain will allow sleeping at its stand in a hotel suite that it has set up at the fairgrounds. “It is a unique and unrepeatable experience,” the company says. Its façade is reminiscent of the mythical Vincci Capitol on Madrid’s Gran Vía.
Civitatis, the Spanish company of activities around the world, offers a free two-hour tour, with prior registration for the general public. It consists of a guided tour of six countries (Spain, Norway, Poland, Dominican Republic, Malta and Peru) to learn about their culture and traditions.
Viajes El Corte Inglés will offer 20% discounts on a selection of products and will give away a 200 euro travel card to visitors who book their holiday at the fair. In addition, a trip to Punta Cana, a tour of Norway and four Paradores vouchers for one night for two people, with breakfast included, will be raffled off under a notary.
Some communities, such as Andalusia, the Valencian Community, the Canary Islands and Catalonia, through their tourism managers, are going to give a joint talk about the opportunities as pioneering destinations. In the case of Catalonia, the general director of Tourism, Marta Domènech, will be in charge. This meeting will be on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at stand 10105 in pavilion 10.
The Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, will also participate in a round table on “Knowledge and Tourism: talent as a Motor” that same day.
Afterwards, there are many curious initiatives. The world network of cocoa tourist destinations or the world network of religious tourism destinations will be presented.
Hotel chains, such as Hesperia, Derby Hotels Collection, or Vincci Hotels, among many others, will present their new accommodation and gastronomic offerings.
Even the CCOO union participates in Fitur with its own stand to promote “laborally responsible tourism” for workers in the sector.
Artificial intelligence could not be missing from Fitur. For this reason, Eviden and Vodafone are going to present a virtual assistant based on artificial intelligence at the tourism innovation and technology forum to show the hotel of the future and the services they will offer. The Enaire company is also going to release a management application and a virtual reality simulator.
Then, the 152 countries that are going to present their main vacation destinations. They will offer gastronomy and cultural, hotel and gastronomic information on how to enjoy a few days.
Furthermore, as a novelty, the fair itself has organized specific days for sports tourism and LGTBi tourism, two options that are increasingly gaining more followers. All companies will also base their strategy on sustainability and ecological tourism.
