The travel industry matters: that’s the message that’s coming out of Spain, which has confirmed that overseas attendees at the Fitur travel trade show in Madrid have been granted “highly qualified worker” status and are thereby allowed to attend.
The special edition of their event kicked off today, 19 May, and will run until 23 May with the theme of Tourism is Back. Around 50,000 trade visitors are expected to attend, including Michael Collins of Travelmedia.ie, pictured below.
In a statement, the organisers said: “This government measure has been initiated by the ministry of industry, trade and tourism and represents a significant boost to streamlining attendance at Fitur by trade visitors from abroad.
“Fitur will be a strategic edition for reviving tourism at a critical time for restarting trade meetings as part of the Spanish tourism industry’s leading platform.”
“For border control purposes, (event organiser) IFEMA Madrid is working with the government to adapt the registration processes for Fitur trade visitors from other countries to speed up the paperwork and make international access more agile.”
“Fitur will bring together members of the international professional tourism community who represent the entire chain of value regarding offer and demand in the sector, with the participation of destinations, transportation, accommodation, solutions and services for the industry, as well as brokers, travel agents and tour operators,” it added.
