Rosana Morillo: “The role of FITUR as a driver of tourism is more than proven”

What summary can you give us about your participation in FITUR 2024?

The assessment that the Secretary of State for Tourism makes of this 44th edition of FITUR cannot be more than positive. Once again this year, FITUR has proven to be one of the most important tourism trade fairs in the world, if not the most important, and is an impressive showcase for the world to see everything we have to offer as a leading tourism powerhouse.

At FITUR 2024, Turespaña wanted to focus on the sustainability of the sector, not only from an environmental point of view, but also from a social and economic one. Increasingly, travellers are demanding tourism experiences that not only respect the territory and the environment, but also the living conditions of residents and workers in the sector. It is on this added value that we in the Spanish Government want to continue working, and FITUR 2024 has provided us with an excellent opportunity to do so.

Likewise, at the last edition of the fair, the Spanish Government focused on strengthening its relations with other countries, and for us it was a pleasure to have Ecuador as a partner country at FITUR, a nation with which we have excellent relations and with which we want to continue strengthening tourism flows. But also with other countries such as Mexico and Brazil, outbound markets that are growing substantially and that bring quality tourism to our country, with longer stays, higher tourist spending and with visitors who prefer to visit us outside the high season.

Finally, I would like to mention another of the main challenges facing the sector that we wanted to highlight at FITUR 2024: digital transformation.

How do you view FITUR's role in promoting tourism?

Without a doubt, FITUR's role as a driver of tourism is more than proven. Its 44 editions bear witness to this. It is also worth recalling that it was the only international tourism fair that the pandemic did not stop and which continued to take place despite the complex health situation.

At this edition we have been able to see how FITUR continues to generate expectations that, year after year, it is able to meet. Its record figures for 2024 prove this, with more visitors than ever before, more participating countries than ever before, more exhibiting companies than and more exhibition space than ever before.

The success of FITUR is a cause for celebration not only for Madrid, but for the whole of Spain and for the entire world tourism sector.

What is the outlook for Spanish tourism in 2024?

Expectations are very, very positive. 2023 was the year of full recovery of the tourism sector, after a few very difficult years, and 2024 will be the year of consolidation of this recovery. We closed 2023 with more than 85 million international visitors and more than €108,000 million in tourism expenditure, an unprecedented figure that highlights Spain’s position as a leading tourism powerhouse.

The forecasts for the first quarter of 2024 lead us to believe that this year will once again be an exceptional year, but I would like to focus on what is really relevant: the quality of the tourism we receive. I am referring to the fact that we are seeing the season getting longer and longer, we are seeing more and more long-haul travellers - from the USA, Mexico, Brazil and Asia - choosing Spain for their holidays and we are seeing more and more regions being visited, not just the traditional and established destinations.

Obviously Spain offers sun and beach destinations, but it also has many other attractions, such as its historical heritage, its culture and traditions, its gastronomy, its nature... We are a 360/365 destination: that is, a 360º destination for 365 days a year. We have a tourism product for every segment.

But we are not satisfied with what we have: we want more quality tourism, and that means that we have to continue working so that the benefits of the industry reach everyone - residents, workers, businesses, small and medium-sized enterprises, large companies - and all its territories, both consolidated and emerging.