The region’s countries underscore their interest in a fair –slated from Jan. 20 to 24- designed to promote their destinations and dish out their offers among Spanish companies.

The International Tourism Fair (FITUR), scheduled to take place between Jan. 20 to 24, 2010, is coming to its 30th edition. From the first event held in 1981, IFEMA –the organizer– conceived the tradeshow as a forum with and for tourism. Through the course of these three decades, the turnout of both local and international attendees has accrued dramatically as the fair has beefed up its image as an undisputed benchmark within the travel industry. Today, FITUR ranks among the world’s three major shows. These achievements would have never been possible without the participation of exhibiting organizations that have turned the event into a world-class launching pad for the sale of products. That’s why attendants faithfully turn up for the first major travel and tourism show of the year. Caribbean nations are among the key stakeholders that have contributed to raise the confidence in FITUR, now that the fair is coming to its 30th edition. The Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Mexico have been to FITUR since day one. Others like Cuba, Aruba or Jamaica have joined in a piecemeal fashion and are now unconditional attendants to the event. Dynamic Outbound Market, Competitive Investments Thus, FITUR has panned out to be an extraordinary commercial platform for the Caribbean market, where tourism is by far its number-one economic powerhouse with over 20.2 million tourist arrivals and as many as $23.5 billion worth of revenues in 2008, according to stats provided by the UNWTO. Paola Dimitri, chief of the Dominican Republic Tourism Office in Spain and Portugal, stresses the importance of attending a fair like this one. “FITUR is no doubt the best showcase the travel industry has to promote our destination. It’s a peerless conclave for negotiating guestrooms in the Dominican Republic every year.” In addition, the country’s presence in FITUR through all these years has happened together with a major uptick in visitor arrivals and Spanish business investments in the territory. “Since the 1990s, we have strengthened as a Caribbean travel destination of choice for the Spanish market, and Spain has become our main investor as far as tourism is concerned.” Something similar has also occurred to Puerto Rico, an island nation that has witnessed a significant spike in the number of Spanish sunbathers. “In FITUR we have found the best framework to meet with leading hotel companies investing in the Caribbean,” says Marimar Lidin, marketing director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company for Europe. The Caribbean’s commitment to putting on its best face and bringing its finest offers at FITUR has been rewarded with recognitions that this fair has given in three occasions to Mexico and once to Cuba for the best booth. For its part, the contest doled out the 2004 award to the best active tourist product to the Dominican East, from the Dominican Republic.