What is going to be discussed at FITUR 2019?
This year, with dates a little more detached from Christmas carols, FITUR , the most important tourism fair in Spain, comes with music, business, technology, awareness and a lot of Netflix under its arm. Not in vain, in this world things are clear: either you segment or you perish.
From next January 23 to 27, IFEMA becomes more colorful, folkloric, multilingual and stimulating than ever. is what you have the most relevant event in the tourism sector in our homeland, which has managed to be a point of union between Europe, Latin America and Spain, a country that received 82.6 million foreign tourists last year.
This figure, together with the recent crisis, has caused many destinations and companies to turn to the red carpet not so much with the desire to conquer our holidays as to learn why we are an example worldwide.
FITUR is increasingly a space for dissemination and learning
Hence, more and more, FITUR is a space for dissemination and learning both for our regions and for the whole world. And also, let it be a space to reflect on how to maintain this level and how to conquer new travelers.
ATTENTION TO YOUR SCREENS
In the latest TCI Research report from April 2018, one piece of information stood out: More than 80 million tourists choose their vacations motivated by their favorite series or movies. In other words, they turn the world into an atlas of locations in which the height of fun is feeling like a superhero, a detective or a Khaleesi.
Therefore, among all the novelties of this year, stands out FITUR CINEMA/SCREEN TOURISM , a platform that seeks to investigate how to better monetize your castle, town or landscape that has been seen by millions of people around the world. A phenomenon that, although it already existed thanks to the great blockbusters and the most famous sagas, has multiplied with the triumph of on-demand platforms such as Netflix, Movistar or Amazon Prime.
This monographic section will focus on show success stories worldwide during the professional days (from January 23 to 25) and will delve into the post-exhibition moment.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau at a time of the filming of 'Game of Thrones' in Seville
In other words, the success of a destination no longer lies only in having a Film Commission that attracts the best Hollywood productions, but in have original ideas and a strategic plan so that, after being exhibited on the screens, it will be attractive to viewers turned tourists.
EXEMPLARY FESTIVAL
If in the 2018 edition it was raised and created, in some way, the figure of the festival tourist, in 2019 this reality is going to become pure fun. Or, rather, the fair is going to be consistent setting up your own festival, FITUR is music, in Hall 1, which will follow the meetings and presentations.
will fill Friday and Saturday nights of concerts, attracting a different audience than the one at the fair, with affordable prices _(from €20) _ and making reality what is preached so much in the different talks at FITUR Festivales: there is the musical traveler, it is necessary to create an ad hoc offer and it is urgent to create a model of coexistence between neighbors and concertgoers.
MICE DOESN'T MEAN 'MICE'
Three realities have promoted the creation of a first workshop called FITUR MITM aimed at Tourism of Congresses, Events, Meetings and Incentives (MICE in its acronym in English).
The most relevant event in the tourism sector
The first, the fact that more and more destinations are betting on being sexy when hosting these dates which are usually held out of season and whose expenditure per traveler is higher than the holiday one.
The second, that Spain is on fire, not only for organizing the largest fair in this segment in Barcelona every November, the IBTM, but also because, according to data from the ICCA, Our country is the fourth country that organizes the most congresses in the world.
And the third, because there is a very solid current in this field that is almost more concerned with after-work and activities outside the business than by its agenda. That is, fun, culture, shows and gastronomy. And in that we are second to none.
AND WHAT ARE YOU: INTELLIGENT OR SUSTAINABLE?
Beyond the round tables, the tangential events and the post-FITUR parties, the different destinations and companies that will be present at IFEMA these days will bet on two clear lines of innovation: be smart or be sustainable.
The first, in addition to having its own program within the FITUR Techy technology section, will result in stands that will bet on claiming things that were previously unthinkable such as internet connection, their success on Instagram or their commitment to new exhibition techniques such as augmented reality or virtual reality.
In particular, **the pavilions dedicated to companies (numbers 8 and 10)** will exude concepts such as the chatbox, the particular Alexa of airlines and hotels that attends to customers and solves their problems.
New techniques, an essential now at FITUR
The bet on eco It has been a recurring theme in recent times for destinations and companies, which promoted FITUR Green a couple of editions ago. However, this current that has come to stay will shine in the stands of companies that seek to differentiate themselves through Corporate Social Responsibility and awareness.
Example of this is INSIDE , the Meliá brand (stand 10C04) of contemporary urban hotels that will exhibit an installation made by the 2017 AD New Talent Award winner Jorge Penadés , who has used plastic objects to raise awareness of the need to replace this material with a biodegradable one.
More examples? the stand of Asturias (9C11), which has drawn on its folklore and rural values to position itself as a genuine sustainable destination or one of Balearic Islands (7B08), which will present all the actions carried out with the ITS (sustainable tourism tax).
FROM THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC TO WINE TASTINGS
Every year the difference between the destinations that bet on the fair to make the weekend visitor fall in love and those that are only interested in the professional public. A gap that was noticeable, above all, when crossing from the odd pavilions (dedicated to Spain and America) to the even ones, much more bland where there was only a little gift or greedy activity in the stands of certain exotic African and Asian countries.
The pleasure of discovering the world just by losing yourself between stands
A trend that this year is going to multiply thanks to, among other things, the sponsorship of FITUR by the Dominican Republic (3A05). This link, beyond being a diplomatic and strategic decision, means that the Caribbean country is going to bet with great force to show its charms cultural, sporting and natural. That is, green, green, green and more nature.
Other essential stands will be those of Italy (4D04 and 4F02), where the beauty of Matera, the fifth centenary of the death of Leonardo Da Vinci, the free WiFi (sponsored by them at the fair) and their commitment to virtual reality will mark everything.
Also that of tokyo (6C29), where daily talks will be given (Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. and Sunday at 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.) about the charms of the city; the of Navarre (7B10), where exclusive cheese and wine tastings will be organized for 25 people on Saturday at 12:30 and 5:30 p.m. Philippines (6C03), marked by its musical performances and acrobatic cocktail shows.
TO THE MOON… OR CLOSER
And, as always, **the home of all #YoSoyTravelers will be the Condé Nast Traveler stand (3A25)**, a space to get inspired and where to find the next destination, whether it's the moon or any other of those places, hotels, cities that define us as readers.
The home of all #YoSoyTraveler will be the Condé Nast Traveler booth (3A25)