FITUR 2013 – International Tourism Trade Fair
FITUR 2013 stands in Spanish for “Feria Internacional de Turismo” which translates in English as: International Tourism Trade Fair. FITUR is probably the most important event for doing business in the Tourism industry in Spain these days. Spain’s strongest industry is Tourism therefore more than eight thousand companies like to attend this event every year. It’s usually at the beginning of every year and it’s located at IFEMA (Institución Ferial de Madrid) in Madrid.
Participants range from different sectors such as: Hotels, Tour operators, Official Government entities, Travel Agents and many more. For 2013´s edition 160 different governments and countries were represented. The space is huge and you will probably need more than a day to see the whole fair. I definitely recommend that if you work in the travel or tourism industry to come visit FITUR at some point in your career. While I was walking the fair and taking pictures I could smell business everywhere around me. There were business men and women talking and chatting about how to join forces and cut deals. It was my first time at a FITUR and it was an excellent experience.
There are usually some days only for business people and related to the industry and a couple of days open to the general public. Personally, I think the fair is more for visitors with a business interest but if you have free time in Madrid and you appreciate tourism, you might enjoy stopping by FITUR.
