Hotel & Tourism SMARTreport #32

EVENTS
FITUR SIGNALS
THE START
OF THE
INTERNATIONAL
TOURISM FAIR
CALENDAR
FITUR IFEMA
TURISMO 2016
THE “BIG EVENT” IN SPAIN
IFEMA prepares staging of the 37 th FITUR trade show
for January 2017
It’s the first major appointment of the year
for travel professionals the world over.
From January 18 to 22, 2017, the 37 th
staging of FITUR in Madrid is a major event
on the calendar, and the leading show for
the Latin American sphere.
The show is organised by IFEMA, the
leading fair organiser in Spain and one of
the most important in Europe, with over
three decades’ experience and a portfolio
of 80 annual fairs that are specialised in the
main economic and production sectors. In
recent years, IFEMA has positioned itself
as a global operator through the presence
of its fairs in Latin America and Asia and
through consulting projects on fair grounds
management and invitations to tender in
Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
FITUR signals the start of the international
tourism fair calendar, and thus acts as a
barometer for the sector that is one of
the most important drivers of the global
economy.
The 2017 event kicks off with the highest
expectations, following a rise in attendee
figures in 2016; a new record with a total
of 231,872 visitors, including 124,659
participating professionals (2% more than
in 2015) and 9,605 companies present,
hailing from 165 countries. Each year, the
FITUR show has a positive repercussion on
Madrid, generating an economic impact
estimated at 210 million Euros for the city.
This year, the organisers have more
than ever been travelling the world to
promote the event. One such example
was a workshop held in Colombia on July
27, organised by the Bogota chamber
of commerce, on how to get the most
from a trade show in both business and
promotional terms.
The workshop, given by Santiago Quiroga,
Director of International Expansion of
IFEMA, highlighted the importance of a
professional fair within the foreign trade
strategy of companies •
FITUR HEALTH
A MAJOR
DRAW CARD
The specialised FITUR
HEALTH section will again
be staged at the show, and
on this occasion, IFEMA and
its partner SPAINCARES are
renewing their collaboration
agreement for the third
staging of this section, which
will again occupy Hall 8 of
IFEMA’s exhibition venue.
In 2016, FITUR HEALTH hosted
25 exhibitors, representing
more than 150 health centres
and businesses from within
this industry, and saw the
participation of 14 top-level
international buyers.