Fitur 2008: The tourist Industri comes together at the best ever edition on Fitur.

Fitur 2008: FITUR once again brings the tourist industry together at its twenty-eighth edition, which is due to take place between 30th January and 3rd February at Feria de Madrid. This new edition, the first grand world event on the tourist industry calendar, features a 11% increase with respect to 2007 edition. In this respect, FITUR will achieve the best figures in its history, based on a record net exhibition area measuring approximately 100,000 square metres, distributed throughout 12 halls, not to mention the attendance of more than 13,300 companies from 170 countries / regions. The fair is likely to welcome an estimated 250,000 visitors, 150,000 of whom will be professionals.

Thus, the twenty-eighth edition of FITUR will once again become a grand centre for business, bringing together all kinds of tourism products and services under the same roof and creating an ideal setting in which to promote tourism trade relations, boost contacts, present new features and take advantage of all the benefits entailed by participating at a huge trade fair event of this kind.
Coinciding with the increase in international tourism movements throughout the world, and especially in view of the growth of the Spanish tourist-producing market, FITUR '08 will strengthen both its exhibition contents and its figures relating to participation of companies and official bodies.
The growth of the international dimension at the fair will once again be reflected at this edition, based on significant increases on the part of regions such as Asia-The Pacific, the American Continent and Africa, which have expanded by 18%, 17% and 14%, respectively, in terms of their exhibitor numbers. On this occasion, Bhutan, Madagascar, Greenland and St. Thomas & Prince will attend the fair for the first time, whilst countries such as Niger, Azerbaijan and Zimbabwe will repeat their attendance thanks to the success they achieved at the last edition, when they made their official debut at FITUR. Furthermore, other destinations, such as Portugal, will considerably increase their exhibition space.
Of course,  Spanish participation at the fair, in terms of both business and institutional representation, will be extraordinary, which highlights the excellent opportunities that FITUR entails as a world-renowned framework for tourism business, based on all the advantages provided by the fact that the fair takes place in Spain itself. With regard to the attendance of  Spanish tourism companies,  whose products and services will be distributed throughout three halls,  the space occupied by these participants has increased by 11% compared to the last edition. For their part, official Spanish bodies and organisations have increased their exhibition space by 10%.

In short, the range of products and services on offer at FITUR'08 will be extremely extensive and visitors will be able to discover promotions for a multitude of destinations at first hand. Thus, the New 7 Wonders of the World (the City of Petra in Jordan; the Great Wall of China; the Taj Mahal in Agra, India; the Roman Coliseum in Italy; Chichén Itzá in Mexico; Machu Picchu in Peru; Christ the Redeemer in Río de Janeiro, Brazil) will serve as a starting-point for a tour around the fair. Furthermore, this year will be especially important for destinations such as China, Switzerland and Austria, given that these will be venues for a series of important sporting events: the 29th Olympic Games and the Euro Cup 2008. Furthermore, Saragossa in Spain will strongly promote its forthcoming International Exhibition, Expo Zaragoza 2008, which will take place between 14th June and 14th September, based on the theme of "Water and Sustainable Development". The Pope has also announced that Tarragona, also in Spain, will be the setting for Jubilee Year in 2008, in which respect numerous events, exhibitions and conferences have been scheduled. Furthermore, Madrid and the whole Spain, will celebrate the Commemoration of the Bicentenary of the Uprising of 2nd May. Vitoria will compete for the Walled City of the World Prize, an award of international stature that recognises renovation and rehabilitation work at these historical sites, a distinction that has already been presented to Ávila, Toledo and Cuenca.

The International Tourism Trade Fair will also present information regarding the following Spanish projects: Madrid's Candidature as an Olympic City in 2016; Segovia's candidature as European Capital of Culture in 2016; the aspiration of the Tower of Hercules in La Coruña to become a World Heritage;  Site; the candidature of Cádiz as the Latin American Cultural Capital in the year 2012; and the thirty-third edition of the Americas Cup and the Formula 1 Grand Prix, both of which are due to take place in Valencia.

For its part, South Africa will focus on its staging of the next World Cup in 2010, whilst Poland will promote Warsaw, Gdansk, Poznan and Wroclaw, which will be among the cities scheduled to host the staging of matches for the EuroCup in 2012. Canada will take advantage of its attendance at the fair to promote its hosting of the Winter Olympic Games in 2010 in Vancouver, whilst London will also present its new features regarding the staging of the Olympic Games in 2012. 

The quality of the exhibition of products and services brought together at the fair constitutes one of FITUR's key aspects. The 2008 edition once again reveals the considerable effort that has been made by companies and institutions to present their best products and services in an attractive manner. In this respect, we might mention the following developments among the airlines: LAN PERÚ will promote the direct Lima-Madrid flights it will be operating as of August; Air Mauritius has included Madrid and Málaga as new destinations, with Barcelona being expected to join them soon; Air Europa will present Moscow as a new destination; and SAS Scandinavian Airlines will increase its direct routes between the Iberian Peninsula and the Scandinavian countries. For its part, Pullmantur Cruises will present a number of new products, such as a new eight-day cruise around the Greek Islands and Turkey. With regard to the hotel chains, numerous participants will take advantage of their presence at the fair in order to present their new products and services, such as the following: AC Hoteles has acquired a series of new establishments in Italy and Spain; AGH Hoteles will present its expansion plans; the H10 chain will highlight the opening of its new hotels in the main European capitals; and Confortel Hoteles will be opening new establishments in Seville and Barcelona. Furthermore, ruraljet.com will present its new computer platform, which enables users to make reservations for accommodation, sporting activities, cultural activities and other tourism opportunities (vineyards, spas, etc.) through the same system. Vivocom, the Internet television producer, will carry out a series of live broadcasts of different events throughout the course of the fair. These programmes will be shown on various channels via the Web. This company will also present the latest advances of its technological platform on Web 2.0.

Specialized Sections
FITUR'08 presents once again the monographic sections that have been developed to cater for ongoing specialisation within the field of tourism. In this respect, FITUR CONGRESOS, will take place over the few days prior to the fair itself, on 28th and 29th January, in Hall 14.1 at Feria de Madrid. This workshop employs a series of personalised  appointments in order to bring together the best Spanish congress and meetings products, represented by some 150 companies, with a carefully selected list of representatives of international demand (the selection process is undertaken by Turespaña), consisting of 200 buyers from 30 countries. On this occasion,  the markets of South Korea, Romania and Bulgaria are the new incorporations. This event, which enjoys the support of the main agents and administrative bodies linked to this segment, is completed with an exhibition area featuring 40 Spanish stands and a Pre-tours Programme that offers participants the opportunity to view some of the most attractive Spanish destinations for this kind of tourism product.

For its part, FITUR ACTIVO, which will be staging its fifteenth edition, will present the latest new products and services of different bodies and companies operating within the fields of Adventure tourism, Cultural tourism and Nature tourism. All of the products from 1,596 specialised companies are brought together in a new edition of the Active Tourism Guide, which is co-published by the Spanish Department for Trade and Tourism, with the collaboration of Revista Aire Libre. The fair will also provide the framework for the staging of  the  Best Active Tourism Product Competition , which is due to hold its thirteenth edition.

The fourteenth edition of FITUR KNOW HOW once again becomes the best showcase for technological innovations applied to tourism. All of these products are brought together in the Tenth Spanish Tourism Technology Guide, which is co-published by the State Department for Trade and Tourism. The Tenth Anniversary edition of this Guide,  which has served as an effective working tool for professionals for a number of years now, will bring together more than 800 products linked to the fields of technology, consulting, training, quality, hotel management, etc.
FITUR provides a boost for research within the field of tourism by hosting the staging of the ninth edition of the FITUR/Jorge Vila Fradera Forum, which will present an award to the best piece of tourism research produced in Spain and Latin America. The publishing department of  Centro de Estudios Ramón Areces will be responsible for publishing and later distributing the winning work, which will also be announced during the course of the fair.

The tourist sector
As reflected at FITUR, the tourism industry is enjoying an increasing rate of growth, one that is well above that of other sectors of activity.  In Spain, some 52.7 million foreign tourists entered the country between January and October, which represents an increase of 2%, the largest since 2006. These favourable figures are in line with the favourable development of tourism throughout the world, as confirmed by the WTO with its last report, which estimates the number of international tourist arrivals at 610 million during the first eight months of 2007, which represents specifically 32 million more compared to the same period of last year.

FITUR will present a first-class forum for analysis in order to provide a more in-depth insight into the current state of the tourist industry. This takes the form of a packed Programme of Trade Meetings, whose considerable interest resides in both the issues to be addressed and the prestige of the speakers and organizations and bodies organizing them. This is the case of the Eleventh Latin American Conference of Tourism Ministers and Businessmen –CIMET-, organised by Grupo Nexo; the Eighth Euro-Mediterranean Forum whose topic will be "The tourist awakening of Libya", organised by Diálogo Mediterráneo with the collaboration of Grupo SCA; The Hotel Innovation and Technology Forum (FITURTECH), organised by the Hotel Technological Institute (ITH) and FITUR, will tackle themes such as  "Introduction and Practical Cases: Travel 2.0" and "The Opportunities Offered by Blogs Applied to Tourism", as well as hosting the staging of the "First International Meeting of Tourism Bloggers", which will bring together the most outstanding commentators from the industry so that they can exchange experiences. Furthermore, FITUR will provide the setting for various other events and activities, such as the following: various conferences organised by  the WTO (World Tourism Organisation); the Tourism Technology  Room, organised by the  State  Tourism Department; and various activities organised by the Spanish Association of  Tourism Experts (AECIT).

Furthermore, the FITUR Activities Programme will feature the Folklore Festival of the Peoples of the World on the weekend of 2nd and 3rd February, when the fair opens its doors to the general public. This event is due to stage its twenty-eighth edition, the same number as FITUR itself. At this cultural event, Spanish and foreign groups will present part of their rich and unique artistic and cultural heritage through a range of expressions such as dance, music and local costumes. On this occasion, the Folklore Festival of the Peoples of the World will revolve around the theme of "Emblematic Buildings”.

FITUR Supports Tourism Students
FITUR and ANESTUR, the Spanish Federation of Tourism Schools, have renewed their collaboration agreement, which means that they will continue to work together in order to help promote and boost measures aimed at enhancing tourism teaching, thus guaranteeing the quality and ensuring the future of Spain's leading industry.

Thus, the second edition of the FITUR-ANESTUR Workshop will take place on Friday 1st February, featuring the technological support of Turijobs.com, an employment portal specialising in the industry. This meeting will promote a series of interviews between businessmen and the best tourism students, who have been chosen to take part in the event prior to the Workshop from among Spanish public and private training institutions that imparts tourism studies.  The aim of these interviews is to offer future professionals an insight into the current state of the market. In this respect, job opportunities are generated for students, at the same time as the companies participating at the fair have the chance to optimise their staff selection processes.

FITUR NEWS: An Official Publication
For the second consecutive year, four issues of the newspaper,  FITUR NEWS  (one for each day of the fair devoted to the trade and one for the weekend), will be produced, including all of the new features, meetings, papers and other important events that take place at  FITUR '08. The newspaper will be distributed free of charge at the fair itself.
Furthermore, FITUR 2008 has boosted the contents of the electronic publication, FITUR NEWS, whose purpose is to keep exhibitors, visitors and the media informed of all the new features that may take place before, during and after the fair.
The 28th edition of FITUR will be open from 10.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. during the days devoted to professional visitors (30th and 31st January, and 1st February) and from 10.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. during the weekend (2nd and 3rd February), when it will be open to general public.

.