IFEMA MADRID has confirmed that FITUR, the International Tourism Trade Fair, will be held as per schedule—between January 19 and 23. The decision has been unanimously approved at a meeting convened by José Vicente de los Mozos, the chairman of IFEMA’s executive committee. The meeting was attended by Reyes Maroto, the minister of industry, trade and tourism; Marta Rivera de la Cruz, the regional minister of culture, tourism and sport of the Madrid Regional Government; Fernando Valdés, the secretary of state for tourism; Almudena Maillo, councilor for tourism, Madrid City Council; Isabel Oliver, the advisor to the UNWTO secretary-general; and Javier Sánchez-Prieto, the chairman of the FITUR organizing committee and IBERIA.
“It’s important that we have reached unanimity on this decision,” said José Vicente de los Mozos in a press release. “It will have a major impact on the tourism business and ensure that we can organize a major event in a safe environment. This event already proved its capacity at the last edition, in an even more difficult situation. This edition of FITUR will mark a turning point in the tourism business, even more so now that we are starting a year in which we’re so optimistic about a safe recovery for the industry worldwide.”
FITUR 2022 is also backed by the entire tourism industry value chain and this is evident in the strong representation, both from Spain and abroad. The fair will occupy eight of the halls, with stands representing all of Spain’s regions, with a range of Spanish destinations, new companies and a solid international presence. Altogether, FITUR will bring together around 100 countries with 70 official representations, led by the Dominican Republic—this year’s FITUR Partner Country.
IFEMA MADRID will strengthen sanitary checks and enforce all necessary safety measures to ensure that FITUR runs normally. In this respect, in a context marked by Spain’s excellent vaccination levels, FITUR 2022 will require all participants from countries in the E.U. digital COVID certificate scheme to show it. The requirement for participants from other countries will be the same as at border checks to obtain the QR Spain Health for entry into the country.
It will also deploy again, as it did at the 2021 edition, a rigorous protocol of measures and systems to ensure the safety of all exhibitors and visitors, validated by the Madrid Regional Government’s health department. There will also be capacity control in all the halls, with automated people counting systems and an intelligent digital system for analyzing spaces, capacity and attendee behavior. There will be crowd control at all times, besides a mask mandate inside the IFEMA MADRID facilities, and temperature checks that are in place at all its fairs. There will also be strict protocols in catering facilities, with spacious outdoor seating areas.
IFEMA MADRID’s facilities are also equipped with an advanced and powerful ventilation system that filters the air, prevents it recirculating, and ensures complete renewal every 20 minutes to prevent the spread of pathogens. These measures are complemented by careful organization of people flows and layout of spaces to ensure safe interpersonal distancing, hand sanitizers and disinfectants throughout the premises and contactless digital passes.
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