The Inaugural Tour Has Begun at 11:00 am on Jan. 19 at Feria de Madrid's Hall 9

MADRID, January 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- Her Majesty Queen Doña Sofia to Inaugurate FITUR 2011

On Wednesday Jan. 19 at 11:00 am Her Majesty Queen Sofia has presided over the official opening of FITUR 2011. After greeting national and political authorities, the Queen has begun a tour of several halls where she has been able to see a sampling of the services featured at FITUR 2011, open to professionals and the public through Jan. 23.

Upon her arrival Her Majesty Queen Sofia has been received by Miguel Sebastian, Spanish Minister of Industry, Tourism and Trade; Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization; Antonio Vázquez, President of the FITUR Organizing Committee and Chairman of IBERIA Airlines; and Joan Mesquida, Secretary General of Turismo de Espana. Along with them, greeting Her Majesty have been the president of the Junta de Andalucía, José Antonio Griñán; the president of the Region of Murcia, Ramón Luis Valcarcel Siso; the Minister of Economics and Finance for the Autonomous Region of Madrid, Antonio Beteta; and the Subsecretary of Industry, Tourism and Trade, Amparo Fernández. Representing IFEMA have been José María Álvarez del Manzano and Luis Eduardo Cortes, presidents of the Governing Board and Executive Committee of the institution, respectively; as well as its CEO Fermin Lucas, accompanied by Arturo Fernandez, president of the Madrid Chamber of Commerce Madrid and CEIM. Other authorities, various ministers involved in the sector and a number of international tourism representatives have also received Her Majesty the Queen upon her arrival at Feria de Madrid's North Gate.

Recovery in the Sector

The presence at FITUR's official opening of the Royal House shows once again its unconditional support for the Fair and for the tourism sector in general, as a key to the Spanish economy. This year FITUR brings together some 10,500 businesses from the tourism industry from 166 different countries and regions. These representatives will occupy 10 halls at Feria de Madrid covering 75,000 square meters of net exhibition space. Amongst recent data a 3% in the business area is worthy of note, received as a signal of the market's recovery while also demonstrating FITUR's importance as a business platform. The increase in participating companies can be seen at the Trade Fair with the return of firms such as technology provider Amadeus, the hotel group Accor, and the car rental company NATIONAL ATESA, among others. These additions come in addition to the return to FITUR of Iberia, the leading airline in the Spanish market, which will have its own stand.

FITUR 2011 also welcomes the arrival of some destinations for the first time, such as the Republic of Congo and Pakistan, as well as new official delegations from New Zealand, Lebanon and South Africa, demonstrating their confidence in FITUR as a first-class platform to promote their tourist offerings. The event is further buoyed by the growth in participation by some stalwart Fair exhibitors, such as CATA (The Central American Tourism Agency) at the 2011 edition, which has increased its already large exhibition space at FITUR by 24% compared to last year as it welcomes new businesses into the region. In addition, the Fair evidences the tourism boom in emerging markets like the Asian/Pacific, which has increased its presence by 4% compared to last year, while the areas devoted to Africa, as well as North Africa and the Near East have seen a 3% rise. This news is rounded out by the remarkable surge by the already well-established European market, which has seen an 8% increase in its presence at the Fair.

In short, the 31st edition of FITUR is set to reflect the reality of the tourism industry today, which is undergoing a period of recovery, as indicated by data from the World Tourism Organization, which confirmed an increase of 7% at the end of 2010, and by the figures put forward by the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade, which wound up last year citing growth of 1.4%.

FITUR will open its doors to the public involved in the sector from Wednesday Jan. 19 through Friday Jan. 21 non-stop from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm. On Saturday, Jan. 22 and Sunday, Jan. 23, when the Fair will be open to the general public, it will expand its schedule by one hour, opening from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm.

    
    Marina Tejerina Ortega 
    Tel: +34-91-722-58-24 
    marina.tejerina@ifema.es