The International Tourism Trade Fair, FITUR stages its 29th edition which will take place at Feria de Madrid between 28th January and 1st February 2009. The staging of this edition will mark the renewal of its commitment to the industry. In this respect, new initiatives shall be undertaken to serve tourism professionals and to strengthen its international dimension. To date, around 80% of the participants at the last edition have confirmed their attendance at FITUR'09. Based on this marvellous response, the fair's organisers are working on various different measures, such as conferences and coinciding activities. Along with the new features that are due to be presented by the exhibitors themselves, these measures will consolidate the fair's role as an effective meeting-point for all members of the tourist industry. Furthermore, new issues of the digital newsletter known as FITUR NEWS will also shortly be published. This periodic publication will offer information regarding the fair, including new features to be presented by exhibitors and news relating to the industry. It will be circulated to more than 75,000 tourism professionals. The fair's web site, http://www.fituronline.com/, has also been updated and is now available to all those who would like to consult the new features at FITUR '09. For the second consecutive year, FITUR will once again occupy the entire exhibition space available at the exhibition centre (200,000 square metres), with the halls presenting some important new features and improvements, especially after the completion of the work on Halls 12 and 14 and the establishment of the new East Gate. The figures corresponding to the last edition of FITUR, that took place last January, included a new record for participation at the event, thus constituting the best starting-point for what will now be its twenty-ninth edition. In effect, the last edition of the fair, FITUR '08, brought together the tourism products and services of some 13,530 represented companies from 170 countries/regions, distributed throughout a net exhibition area measuring 100,500 square metres, which entailed growth of 12% compared to the previous year. Furthermore, some 255,817 visitors were recorded, of whom 157,300 were professionals. The importance of this grand world tourism event is also reflected by the media interest that it generates, with more than 8,000 journalists being granted accreditation for the event at the last edition. These are figures that FITUR '09 not only hopes to maintain, but also aims to improve, in which respect the fair's organisers shall continue to pursue the strategies that have established FITUR as a key event on the world trade fair calendar: a growing international dimension, improved services and a more professional approach, always based on the goal of enhancing the business opportunities available to both exhibitors and visitors. Following the reorganisation that took place at the last edition of the fair, the twenty-ninth edition of the International Tourism Trade Fair will maintain the same layout and the same sections as before, thus facilitating the orientation of trade visitors. The entire area available in Hall 2 will once again be devoted to visitor registration, which will improve access to the fair enclosure enormously. In this respect, the products and services offered by companies will be on show in Halls 4, 12 and 14.0. The rest of the even-numbered halls will house the international section: Asia, the Pacific, Africa and the international hotel chains and global companies will feature in Hall 6; America is presented in Hall 8; Europe, North Africa and the Near East appears in Hall 10. As far as the national section of the fair is concerned, the Official Spanish Bodies and Organisations will be distributed throughout the odd-numbered Halls 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9. Furthermore, FITUR CONGRESOS, to be staged between 26th and 27th January 2009 will be located in Hall 14.1. The 29th edition of FITUR, organised by IFEMA, will take place between 28th January and 1st February 2009, at Madrid. |