FITUR, Spain's biggest tourism trade fair, opens

Around 142,000 travel professionals are expected to take part, and the annual boost to Madrid's economy comes in at around €320 million.

This year's FITUR, which takes place at the IFEMA trade fair centre, has seen an increase of 3.8% in its exhibition stands, with 918 in total covering 165 countries and regions and 11,040 companies, distributed throughout 10 pavilions.

It is the one tourism fair of the year that practically no Spanish town, province or region wants to miss – along with the World Travel Market (WTM) in London – as it always proves an investment rather than an expense and is the launchpad for major deals with tour operators and other firms that help boost the holiday industry all over the country.

Spain's coastal regions are never absent, even those which, it would seem, do not exactly need to advertise – but this is partly because most of them use FITUR as a chance to promote other activities and attractions that do not form part of the standard 'sun, sea and sand' offer.

For example, the Balearic Islands are home to some incredible historical sites, like the prehistoric Talayot settlements in Menorca, the artists' colony of Deià in Mallorca plus the spectacular caves of Drach and Ham, the monastery in Valldemossa where French novelist George Sands spent a winter with Polish composer Frédéric Chopin, and Formentera, quiet and green, is famous for its mineral mud baths.

The Canary Islands are home to some truly breathtaking National Parks, whilst both countryside and heritage attractions, shopping and dining are on the menu on the Costa del Sol, Costa Blanca and other coasts in between.

For all these areas, advertising what else they have besides great weather and beaches is key to turning tourism into a year-round industry, not just an activity that most traders only have the summer to make their living from.

Overseas destinations, as well as the typical worldwide tourism Meccas, are always on display, and many of them change every year – for 2020, Niger, El Salvador, Papua New Guinea and Ras al-Khaimah are not present, but their stands have been occupied instead by Gabon, Surinam, Tajikistan and Taiwan.

Asia-Pacific and Africa are the fastest-growing world regions in FITUR – the former by 21.5% and the latter by 19.5% - ahead of Europe, at 5.3% and the Americas, by 3.3%.

Secretary of State for tourism Isabel Oliver says in FITUR's 40-year history, Spain has become the second destination on earth for tourist numbers and also for tourist spending – from 38 million foreign visitors in 1981, the total in 2019 was 83 million, nearly double the country's population of 47.1 million, and annual holidaymakers spend a collective €92 billion in Spain.

Different areas within FITUR this year include FITUR Match, FITUR Mice, the FITURNext Observatory, FITUR Talent, FITURtechy, FITUR Know-How & Export, FITUR Gay, FITUR Health, FITUR Screen and FITUR Festivals.

Each year, a different country becomes a FITUR 'partner' – for 2020, this is South Korea, which welcomes 17.5 million visitors annually and, this year, is particularly relevant as it will be celebrating 70 years of the start of its diplomatic relations with Spain.

The first picture, above, shows the north-eastern region of Aragón, which is promoting rural tourism and its ski resorts.