THE TOURIST INDUSTRY COMMENCES THE YEAR 2007 SEASON AT FITUR

• A total of 845 exhibitors, more than 13,100 companies and nearly 89,000 net square metres of exhibition define the first grand worldwide tourism event of the year.

• 43% of direct participants are from abroad, attending the fair from some 170 countries/regions

• The fair's official newspaper, known as FITUR NEWS, will be distributed for the first time at the fair on the days set aside exclusively for the trade. There will be three different issues (one for each day), which will bring together the most important events that take place during this edition of the fair.

FITUR will once again bring the tourist industry together at its twenty-seventh edition, which is due to take place between 31st January and 4th February. This new edition, which is characterised by its growing international dimension and more professional approach on the days set aside exclusively for the trade, is the first grand world event on the tourist industry calendar, one that provides participants with an ideal opportunity to boost their commercial strategies. In this respect, IFEMA will make all ten halls at Feria de Madrid available to members of the industry, bringing together some 845 direct exhibitors and 13,190 represented companies from 170 countries/regions within a net exhibition area measuring 89,000 square metres.

The International Tourism Trade Fair once again becomes one of the most important points of reference for the travel industry, providing all its participants with an ideal setting in which to define their strategies, exchange impressions and opinions and present their new products and destinations ... in short, the fair will provide them with an excellent opportunity to discover the current state of the tourist industry. Furthermore, FITUR, the second most important tourism fair in the world and the most important fair for Latin America, has introduced a series of initiatives and new features that will enhance its effectiveness as a leading centre for business. In this respect, the organisers have boosted a range of new computer-based tools and tightened the access controls on the days set aside for professionals, thus making FITUR the very best framework in which the participating companies can achieve their objectives.

In effect, in the general growing context of the fair, the considerable international stature stands out at FITUR, reflected by the fact that 43% of the direct exhibitors are foreigners.

For further information visit: http://www.ifema.es/ferias/fitur/default_i.html