The International Tourism Trade Fair, FITUR, the first large-scale trade event for the industry staged in the year 2003, provided…
The International Tourism Trade Fair, FITUR, the first large-scale trade event for the industry staged in the year 2003, provided the best possible forum for the industry to express its confidence in the future, irrespective of the current climate that may be affecting the sector. This was the view that the 10,017 companies and 703 direct exhibitors from 170 countries wished to convey by presenting their products and services in an exhibition area measuring some 76,855 net square metres. FITUR, whose twenty-third edition took place at Feria de Madrid between 29th January and 2nd February, has never achieved higher figures than these.
This show of strength, designed to face current difficulties and recover the industry`s prior growth-rates, was confirmed by the attendance of 97,570 participating professionals from 112 countries, which represents an increase of 2.9% with respect to the figure achieved the previous year. The public also attended FITUR en masse during the weekend, totaling some 112,903 visitors in all, which represents an increase of 6.5%.
Travel agencies, wholesalers and tour-operators made up the large group of visitors, accounting for 37% of the total figure, followed by the hotel and catering trade (23%), transport (12%), service providers (12%), official bodies and associations (9%) and the meetings and congress sector (3%). The media, with some 7,000 journalists attending the fair, accounted for 3% of the total figure, whilst e-business accounted for 2%. In relation to the position held by these professionals within their companies, 24% were presidents or managing directors, 15% occupied the positions of marketing, commercial or sales manager, whilst 14% were sales executives or consultants.
The analysis of the areas of interest of the visiting professionals according to sectors reveals that Spanish business was the preferential area of 33%, followed by the official bodies (22%), the international area (17%), FITUR ACTIVE (10%), FITUR KNOW HOW (7%), FITUR CONGRESOS (6%) and FITUR RESIDENTIAL (5%), a new section at the event.
Going beyond the statistical results, the excellent response of the industry simply confirmed, as highlighted by His Majesty the King during the opening ceremony, the considerable trust that is placed in FITUR as a marketing and business forum. Furthermore, the fair provided an ideal setting in which to tackle new challenges and grasp new opportunities within an ever-changing industry that is extremely sensitive to new developments within society. In this respect, the industry revealed at FITUR that new approaches and strategies should be implemented by relying on the virtues that have always characterized this industry: quality and imagination.
The final figures relating to the FITUR exhibition itself, the main constituent of the industry`s show of strength, show that according to sectors, the most strongly represented were hotel and catering, accounting for 44% of the exhibition as a whole, followed by official bodies (27%), tour operators and wholesalers (13%), service providers (6%), transport companies (5%), meetings and congresses (2%) (excluding FITUR CONGRESOS) and the media (2%). We might also highlight the fact that among the exhibitor passes issued, 47% corresponded to presidents/managing directors, 33% to marketing, sales or commercial managers, and 20% to sales executives and consultants, which confirms the degree of importance that companies place on their participation at FITUR.
The growth of FITUR 2003 was also reflected by the fair`s various monographic sections. In this respect, the Active Tourism Guide, a publication that brings together all the products and services offered at FITUR ACTIVE relating to this kind of tourism, featured some 1,215 companies, 18% more than last year, representing a total of 6,233 products, 13.3% more than in the year 2002. For its part, the Spanish Tourism Technology Guide, the publication that represents FITUR KNOW HOW, featured some 658 products, an 18.3% increase, presented by 200 companies, 17% more than at the last edition.
The other large group of professionals represented at FITUR, in addition to the new FITUR RESIDENTIAL section, came together at FITUR CONGRESOS over the two days prior to FITUR itself – 27th and 28th February – bringing together the products and services of 61 exhibiting companies from the field of congress, meetings and incentive tourism. This highly successful event featured the participation of 165 sellers – 8.6% more than in the year 2002 – and 204 buyers attending the fair from 20 countries, which represents an increase of 28.3%. The total number of participating professionals at FITUR CONGRESOS witnessed an increase of 96.6%, achieving a figure of 1,520 in total, accounting for 4,610 appointments, 26.4% more than at last year`s edition.
Awards
As is customary each year, the fair provided the setting for the presentation of awards to the most outstanding stands. On this occasion the prizes went to the stands of the Moroccan National Tourist Office, the Portuguese Tourist Office and the Tourism Company of Puerto Rico, within the countries category. Among the Spanish Regions, awards were presented to the Regional Tourism Company of Cantabria, the Madrid Region, the Valencian Tourism Agency and Turgalicia. Within the companies and official bodies category, the prizes went to Avis Alquile un Coche S.A., Paradores de Turismo de Espana and Compania Trasmediterranea.
In addition, awards were presented under the heading of the Eighth Competition for the Best Active Tourism Product. The overall winner and winner within the Adventure-Tourism category was Sobron Aventura, the Active Tourism Centre of Alava; in the Cultural Tourism category the winner was Lost Vocations of Navarre and the Basque Country; the Caves Network of the Alto Ason in Cantabria received the prize in the Nature Tourism category, whilst Walking Around Cyprus won the award in the International Section, a new category that was launched for the first time. Special Mentions also went to Megabus: the Children`s Tourism Bus of Saragossa and the Via Verde de la Subbetica de Cordoba.
This twenty-third edition of the fair also presented the Fourth FITUR/Jorge Vila Fradera Forum Award that was granted on this occasion to the unpublished work entitled Growth Strategies for Hotel Chains by the authors Onofre Martorell and Carlos Mulet.
Specialized Conferences
As far as the Specialized Conferences were concerned, one of FITUR`s main assets, these provided an ideal opportunity to analyze the current state of the tourist industry and its future prospects. The Sixth Latin American Conference of Tourism Ministers and Businessmen, the Third Euro-Mediterranean Forum, the conferences organized by the WTO and the conferences on Accessibility in Tourism – coinciding with the European Year for the Disabled – and on Residential Tourism were some of the most important events. Neither should we forget to mention the wide-ranging programme of activities staged at the Tourism Technology Show, a section organized by the Spanish State Department for Trade and Tourism. During the weekend, the fair staged its traditional Folklore Festival of the Peoples of the World, featuring the participation of 20 groups from 9 countries.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
