The tenth edition of FITUR CONGRESOS closed its doors on 27 January with a satisfactory balance sheet. The monographic section of FITUR dedicated to the meetings and incentives travel workshop brought together 153 supplier companies from Spain and 201 buyers from 37 different countries. Over two days of intense commercial activity, a total of 4500 business meetings were held, an average of almost 30 per supplier. Once again, the inverse workshop proved the usefulness of its format, which efficiently promotes the best that Spain has to offer in terms of hotels, convention bureaux, promotion boards, congress halls and PCOs, as well as other agents specialising in business travel.
Some of the more veteran participants confirmed their satisfaction with the results of this year’s workshop. Beatriz Arilla, head of international promotion for the Seville Convention Bureau says: “We have attended the event since the first edition due to the opportunities it gives to provide direct contact with a privileged selection of supplier companies and to show them the destination first-hand, which gives us great results”. This is an opinion which is shared by those suppliers who have attended FITUR CONGRESOS for the first time, as is the case of Turismo de Cantabria, whose director, José Carlos Campos, states: “Our first experience has been very positive. The format allows us to meet suppliers with a mutual intention and offer them one of our products exclusively".
In addition to the commercial meetings held during FITUR CONGRESOS, there are also multiple leisure activities sponsored by Turismo Madrid, E.M. Promoción de Madrid and the Madrid Chamber of Commerce. These proposals show foreigners what Madrid has to offer in terms of tourism, so that they can discover first-hand the leisure options available in the capital, since these are an essential enticing element for any incentive trip. These include guided visits to the city and region’s main heritage centres, attending events or meals in emblematic locations.
Before arriving in Madrid and before starting work, international guests had the opportunity to discover what the Autonomous Communities had to offer in terms of congress tourism via the PRETOURS programme, which was held over the weekend in: Catalonia, Cantabria, Castile and Leon, Gijón-Avilés, Malaga, the Basque Country, Palma de Mallorca, Valencia and Madrid.
FITUR CONGRESOS, which is organised jointly by the International Tourism Trade Fair and TURESPAÑA, the Spain Convention Bureau, Turismo Madrid and E. M. Promoción de Madrid, was also sponsored by Trapsa, the official road transport provider and the Association of Madrid Hotels (AEHM).