The Azores will be represented at the International Tourism Trade Fair (FITUR), which takes place in Madrid, Spain, from January 19 to 23, through the organisation of various initiatives carried out by the Regional Secretariat for the Economy and the Azores Tourism Association (ATA), such as the case of promotional campaigns and the meetings with several tourism operators in the Spanish market.

According to Miguel Cymbron, Regional Director for Tourism, the presence of the Azores in this event, the largest of its kind in the Iberian Peninsula, “aims to reinforce the promotion of the Azorean Archipelago in the Spanish market, which registered a significant growth in 2010.”
“Spain is one of the strategic goals of Azores Tourism,” Miguel Cymbron added, stressing “whether by the operation of flights from Madrid to Terceira and Ponta Delgada, or by the fact that Spain has access to several gateways which, in turn, have direct access to the Azores, as it is the case of Galicia and Porto, or the region of Andalucía and Faro.”

Regarding the promotion strategy the Regional Director for Tourism says that the presence at FITUR will highlight “the image of the Region as a Nature destination that increasingly promotes experiential tourism.”
The presence of the Azores at FITUR is the result of a partnership with Tourism of Portugal and it constitutes a privileged meeting point for professionals, such as tourism operators, hotels, travel agencies, consultants as well as specialists in management and international tourism developments.

Such events, reinforced Miguel Cymbron, enable the definition of “strategic guidelines and alliances in order to simply and reinforce tourism activity, meeting new market demands.
Last year, FITUR featured 10,000 display stands from 166 regions/countries and was attended by 124 thousand participants and over 7000 journalists.