The successful edition of the International Tourism Fair has beaten all the forecasts with 111,193 attendees—81,193 professionals from 127 countries during its first three trade-only days and 30,000 on its two days open to the general public. And that is in addition to online participation on the LIVEConnect platform, with 33,286 registrations so far, ten per cent above forecasts. Figures for representation by companies, countries, and destinations brought FITUR 2022 almost back to the levels of pre-pandemic editions, with 6,933 participants (600 exhibitors) from 107 countries, of which seventy attended as an official delegation.
Twenty-one countries’ tourism ministers took part, with four official delegations. The UN World Tourism Organization was actively involved. There was an increased presence of Spanish authorities from all levels of government, headed by Their Majesties, the King and Queen of Spain and the President of the Government. All these participants have made FITUR an edition with a clear impact on revitalising the sector. The estimated impact on Madrid’s economy of a large number of FITUR visitors is over €150 million.
Madrid, January 23, 2022. FITUR 2022, the International Tourism Trade Fair, has been organised by IFEMA MADRID. It has held a special tourism recovery edition since last Tuesday, January 19, and closed its doors today. The strong results highlight the efforts by the entire tourism industry value chain to generate new opportunities so that they can look forward to 2022 with strong expectations for the forecast recovery. This edition has been critical for recovering levels of business and turnover, has made Madrid the hub for the global international tourism community and has enabled us to convey a message of confidence and strength to the whole world.
The figures for FITUR 2022 have exceeded all initial expectations. On the one hand, trade participation over its first three days rose to 81,193 attendees from 127 countries, double the figures for the 2021 edition. This was in addition to general public visitors at the weekend who, even before the final closing figures are in, are estimated at about 30,000 people, giving a grand total of 111,193 attendees. Online professional engagement at FITUR from around the world also achieved record figures. The FITUR LIVEConnect platform complements the fair to provide a hybrid format over a more extended season and broader geographic scope. As of today, it has had 33,286 registrations, ten per cent above initial forecasts.
Traffic on FITUR’s website was up 90%, reaching 150,000 unique users, twice as many as in 2021.
The response from companies, countries, and destinations has been excellent. It shows an upward trend in terms of representation, with figures approaching the FITUR record attendances in past editions. This is evident in the 6,933 participants from 107 countries gathered at FITUR 2022. There were 600 exhibitors and official representation by seventy countries, led by the Dominican Republic, which this year, under the slogan “Has it all”, has deployed extraordinary resources and organised activities as a FITUR Partner Country.
All these arrivals at FITUR have generated an economic impact for Madrid of approximately €150 million, announced the Madrid Regional Government’s President, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, last Friday on the occasion of FITUR’s Madrid Day.
Another feature has been the solid institutional backing for FITUR again this year. Spain’s Royal Family once again put the finishing touch on the opening day with the presence of Their Majesties, the King and Queen. The Prime Minister chose FITUR to announce the second edition of the Spanish Government’s Tourism Sustainability Plan. FITUR was also attended by UNWTO representatives, tourism ministers from 21 countries and four delegations, seven Spanish government ministers, regional presidents, tourism councillors from the Spanish regions and mayors from several Spanish towns and cities.
The impact of FITUR 2022 has also been reflected in the extensive international media coverage of the fair, with 3,981 accredited journalists from forty countries. Almost twice as many as in May 2021.
As a result, FITUR’s impact channels on social media also doubled, with more than six million impressions and 90,000 interactions with the fair’s profiles as a result of the 1,200 posts published on its channels to broadcast the event. The Fair currently has a community of more than 263,000 followers, of whom more than 8,000 joined this week. FITUR 2022 Partner Country was a trending topic on Twitter for two consecutive days in Spain and one in the Dominican Republic, where Fitur was a trending topic. The Fitur2022 hashtag’s online reach across all platforms surpassed 600 million potential impacts, making this edition the most socially successful to date.
In addition to the wide-ranging content presented throughout FITUR’s eight halls by the different companies, countries, and destinations, the fair also hosted hundreds of activities, forums, presentations, and various initiatives to stimulate the market in its special-interest sections. These sections were FITURTECHY, FITUR KNOW-HOW & EXPORT, FITUR MICE, FITUR SCREEN, FITUR LGBT+, FITUR TALENT, FITUR WOMAN, and FITUR LINGUA, along with the Travel Technology space, the FITUR NEXT Sustainability Observatory, and the début of FITUR CRUISES.
FITUR was also the platform for the public presentation of the HELIXA Experience Center to tourism sector companies and professionals. The HELIXA Experience Center is the result of IFEMA MADRID’s innovation programme to promote the adoption of cutting-edge technology in the trade fair business. The HELIXA Experience Center is a collaboration platform for sharing knowledge and innovation, designed to inspire and mentor businesses in their transformation process and evolution towards new business models opened up by metaverses.
