The Spanish Outbound Travel Market to Africa and the Middle East

Introduction
The present report on the Spanish Outbound Travel Market to Africa and the Middle
East is part of the activities undertaken by UNWTO to support African and Middle
Eastern countries in benefiting from the growing Spanish outbound travel market. This
report aims to complement the activities of INVESTOUR, an entrepreneurial meeting to
be held during Fitur 2010, as a result of an agreement between the Spanish
Government and the Community of Western African States (CEDEAO). INVESTOUR
2010 will be the first investment forum for Africa, with CEDEAO countries as special
guests.
The report aims to provide countries in Africa and the Middle East with, on one hand, a
better understanding of the Spanish market – its size, main characteristics, needs and
expectations – and on the other hand, information on the most efficient actions required
for increasing tourism flows from the Spanish market to these two regions.
Several and complementary sources of information were used in the preparation of this
report: tour-operators, travel agencies, embassies, tourist offices of Africa and Middle
East countries (and others) in Spain and professional associations were interviewed to
gather valuable insights into the Spanish outbound market to Africa and the Middle
East. Also, secondary sources were thoroughly reviewed to gain the widest perspective
possible. This allowed for the development of a reference and qualitative assessment
of the attributes and behaviour of Spanish tourists when travelling to Africa and Middle
East destinations.
Sources of Information
351 40 21
Tourism packages Secondary sources Interviews with
Touroperators
8 9 3
Interviews with Travel
Agencies
Interviews with National
Tourism Offices Abroad +
Embassies
Interviews with professional
associations
The report comprises five chapters: Chapter 1 provides hard data and a brief analysis
of the main macro-economic indicators defining the current – and delicate – situation of