FITUR, Spain's annual exhibition for the trade trade attracts tourism chiefs and industry experts from around the world., drawing more than 230,000 visitors to Madrid every year. Tourism chiefs for Andalucia and Susana Diaz, President of the Junta, and various local politicians “manned” the massive Costa del Sol stand on the opening day of the trade fair, highlighting the importance of the travel show for the region itself and Spain as a whole.
FITUR travel fair kicked off on 18th January against a backdrop of freshly published official forecasts for this year that predicted another record year for southern Spain's tourism sector. Susana Diaz officially opened the enormous Andalucia stand. Taking up nearly one side of the exhibition hall, the stand could hardly fail to attract visitors' attention.
Now in its thirty-seventh year, FITUR is Spain's premier event for the world travel industry, attracting tourism professionals and exhibitors from 165 countries who come to Madrid to network and discuss new trends.
According to Susana Diaz's opening speech, Andalucia expects to welcome 30 million visitors this year, with an additional 1.5 million tourists to arrive, a 5% rise on 2016. Tourists' expenditure, she said, accounted for 19 billion euros annually. The impressive figures didn't end there. She also said that Andalucia region alone welcomed 40% more international travellers in 2016 than the whole of Brazil did in any Olympic year.
But it's not just tour operators, air lines and hoteliers who are keeping a beady eye on travel trends. For people looking to invest in property in Marbella, Malaga City, Estepona or Torremolinos the latest forecast is a clear indication that letting out holiday homes for part of the year is going to be lucrative for years to come.
Elias Bendodo, the Head of Turismo Costa del Sol, who was also present at FITUR, said that Malaga province expected to welcome 2.6% more tourists this year.
“Everything points to an increase in 2017 on the record numbers last year,” an upbeat Mr Bendodo enthused.
The 5-day event is only open to the general public on the last two days. Last year, 231,000 people attended the fair, and organisers predicted even more attendees for 2017. FITUR ended on Sunday, 22nd January.
Andalucia is getting ready for the Challenge ahead
All along the Costa del Sol local tourism chiefs, town halls and local entrepreneurs investing in the tourism sector are getting to meet the challenges head on. Staying ahead of tourism trends is not always easy, but locals are determined they'll be giving it a jolly good try. Upgrading existing amenities and facilities is a must, if Andalucia is to build on its reputation as a world-class holiday destination.
In San Pedro, a neighbouring resort of Marbella, the town centre is to be transformed with an investment of more than 2 million euros. Here the aim is to make the areas between the boulevard and town centre more accessible for everyone, transforming the area into a semi-pedestrianised zone that will attract more footfall throughout the year. Pavements, signage and street furniture are to be renewed, and the area's entire sanitation network is to be modernised.
In addition, the telecommunications infrastructure, natural gas distribution network, irrigation, electricity and public lighting are to be renewed.
Side walks are to be widened and street parking will become a thing of the past. The Marques del Duero area is to be far more pedestrian and cyclist friendly as well as an attractive place to visit for tourists: a new museum dedicated to artist Vicente de Espona is just one of many initiatives to make San Pedro a tourist destination to be reckoned with at the Costa del Sol.
Expected to take ten months to complete, the works will begin in February, weather permitting. An additional 1,099,297 euros will go towards refurbishing the Avenida de Andalucia and Avenida de la Constitucion.