FITUR 2025 highlights the transformative role of the sector and its commitment to sustainability and innovation

Organised by IFEMA MADRID, the International Tourism Fair brings together the global tourism market in its 45th edition, which will showcase from 22 to 26 January the outstanding performance of the tourism industry during the past year 2024 and the good expectations for 2025. A context of strength from which the industry, gathered around FITUR, wants to underline the pride of belonging to the sector, its transformative role and the marked commitment it shows to sustainability and innovation, areas that are very present not only in the monographic sections but also in the offer of destinations and companies.

FITUR is once again opening the international calendar of tourism fairs, reaffirming its leadership as the number one event in terms of the number of participants and attendees, with the support of all public and private agents in the sector's value chain. This is confirmed by the figures presented during the press conference held today at the Fairgrounds with a broad institutional and sector representation: 9,500 participating companies, 156 countries and 884 main exhibitors who will display their offering in 9 pavilions, highlighting the 101 countries with official representation.

Likewise, the excellent response from the sector to FITUR 2025 is expected to be reflected in the flow of attendance, estimated to exceed 150,000 professionals from Wednesday to Friday and around 100,000 general public during the weekend. This large flow of participants and attendees is estimated to have an economic impact for Madrid of 445 million in revenue, with a positive effect on sectors such as mobility, hotels, restaurants, culture and leisure.

FITUR, a consolidated global meeting decisive for tourism

After a 2024 of clear recovery after the pandemic, FITUR 2025 is once again defined by growth. The direct participation of main exhibitors with stands reaches 884, which represents a growth of 10% in general terms and 19% in internationality.

This internationality, which defines the objectives of the International Tourism Fair, is also reflected in the 101 official representations of countries, five more than in the last edition, and in the sum of eleven countries that will join FITUR in 2025, mainly from Africa and Asia.

The growth of the Travel Technology area, which brings together technological trends in tourist reservation management, is a reflection of the penetration of technology and innovation in the tourism sector. In its 45th edition, it has more than one hundred companies from all over the world, representing a sustained growth of 6%.

With these excellent figures, FITUR maintains its solid orientation towards business, with three exclusive days for professionals from January 22 to 24, and its additional and differential reach to the traveler on the weekend by opening its doors to the general public on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26.

Among the new features for 2025, the participation of Brazil as a Partner Country stands out, which will make a significant presence at the Fair to showcase its diverse tourist offer and continue to promote the global positioning of the destination in a context of growth that, according to official data from the Brazilian Ministry of Tourism and Embratur, 2024 has been the best in history for the country's international tourism, which has reached a record figure of 6,657,377 foreign tourists in the year, 12.6% more than the previous year.

José Vicente de los Mozos, President of the Executive Committee of IFEMA MADRID, stated that “FITUR 2025 figures speak of its consolidation as the great global event of the tourism industry. After a 2024 of records in all parameters, the Fair is once again defined by its growth, demonstrating not only the great turnout it has, but also its importance as a letter of introduction for the Spain Brand and the Madrid Brand, as well as the potential of our country as an undoubtedly leading receiving market, but also an issuing one”.

For his part, Marco Sansavini, President of Iberia and of the FITUR Organising Committee, stressed that “FITUR will once again demonstrate that it is increasingly stronger. In 2025, we are incorporating 12 new countries, which gives our fair an even more global reach. New participants from key markets will be present: for example, Kenya from Africa or Vietnam from Asia. And we will also have some new partners from the European continent, such as Austria, among others. This growth of the fair is not the result of chance, but of the effort of the entire Spanish tourism sector, which demonstrates day after day its dynamism and its capacity to innovate, to adapt, which allows it to maintain its international leadership.”

The Brazilian Ambassador, Orlando Leite Ribeiro, said that “Brazil considers tourism as an activity that combines technological innovation, sustainability and the country’s cultural and natural wealth. The purpose is to highlight how the nation leads the integration between green economy and tourism, reaffirming its commitment to preserving the planet and this is above all what we want to show the world. Under these premises, tourism becomes an ally in the conservation of forests. The country aspires to consolidate itself as a world reference in sustainable tourism, valuing the protection of its biodiversity, especially in view of COP30 in Belém.”

Almudena Maíllo del Valle, head of the Department of Tourism of the Madrid City Council, said: “FITUR will make Madrid the world capital of tourism, being the perfect showcase to show the unique experiences that have made Madrid the second most attractive urban destination in the world according to Euromonitor. This fair is an opportunity to show the world the best of Madrid and Madrid the best of the world and to continue building the reputation and image of the city as a global destination.”

For his part, Mariano de Paco, Deputy Minister of Culture, Tourism and Sport of the Community of Madrid, highlighted that “in 2024, the Community of Madrid has consolidated the tourism sector as one of its main economic drivers by generating 8.6% of its GDP in 2024, more than 25 billion euros, according to Exceltur. These data reflect Madrid's decisive commitment to tourism and FITUR is key as a benchmark event for innovation, for the responsible development of tourism and for the visibility it provides to established and emerging destinations.”

Finally, the Secretary of State for Tourism, Rosario Sánchez, stressed that “if 40 years ago Spain was at the forefront of tourism promotion with the creation of Turespaña – and this year we will celebrate this anniversary – today, Spain is once again demonstrating its ability to lead a new transformation of the sector.”

The triad of the future of tourism: business, knowledge and sustainability

With the arrival of 790 million international tourists, with a direct global economic impact of nearly USD 3.4 trillion in the first months of 2024, according to UN Tourism, FITUR 2025 is aligned with the global challenge of the sector and reinforces its commitment to boosting business, disseminating knowledge and good practices and promoting responsible tourism, inviting its professionals to strengthen the role it plays as a fundamental sector in economic and social terms.

In this new edition, FITUR announces the renewal of the 10 sections, promoting sustainability and business by connecting the tourism industry with other sectors that generate new niches for travellers. This is the case of FITUR Cruises, developed with CRUCEROADICTO, which will show the commitment of cruises to environmental sustainability, the protection of destinations and the positive impact on their communities; FITUR LGTB+, a segment that encompasses more than 10% of tourists worldwide, will showcase diversity and inclusion; FITUR Lingua, the space that addresses the opportunities of language tourism and its work in the decentralisation and deseasonalisation of tourism developed together with FEDELE; FITUR Screen, which returns with the SPAIN FILM COMISSION and will connect the film industry with the tourism industry; or FITUR Sports, which is organised in collaboration with AFYDAD and will show how sports tourism is a driver of sustainable tourism.

Also of note are FITUR Techy, created in conjunction with ITH, which will address how AI is revolutionising travel management; FITUR Talent, which is presented as a monograph on the challenges in talent, training and capacity building; FITUR Woman, sponsored by Extremadura and organised in collaboration with WOMEN LEADING TOURISM, which aims to contribute to the promotion of female leadership; FITUR Know How & Export, the space created with SEGITTUR in collaboration with ICEX for Spanish tourism companies to showcase their potential and services; and the second edition of FITUR 4all, which will promote, with the sponsorship of Mallorca, the development of accessible tourism and will make visible initiatives by destinations and companies in this area through the 2nd FITUR 4all Awards and the first Guide to Good Practices, all in collaboration with IMPULSA IGUALDAD.

In addition to these ten sections, there is the FITUR Sustainability Observatory, FITURNEXT in alliance with Aqualia, which will address how tourism can contribute to the sustainable management of food. In this area, it should be noted that, following the roadmap initiated in 2023, IFEMA MADRID is once again measuring FITUR's carbon footprint in scopes 1 and 2 as a sign of its commitment to sustainability and its commitment to promoting events with low environmental impact. As a novelty, this 2025 it will measure for the first time the impact in scope 3, which measures the indirect emissions produced as a result of holding FITUR.

In addition, it is worth highlighting Puerto Rico's sponsorship of FITUR's free WiFi network and the new virtual planning tool that FITUR makes available to visitors to improve their experience when visiting the Fair.

Finally, for the first time FITUR has joined forces with Holafly, the European leader in eSIM, to offer its visitors 24 hours of free eSIM during the days of the fair, giving them a high-quality and 100% secure connection by scanning a QR code. With more than 8 million users and more than 48,000 reviews, it is the best-rated eSIM in the world.

Weekend at FITUR

Over the weekend, on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 January, FITUR opens its doors to the ultimate traveller, who will have the unique opportunity to embark on a global journey without leaving the nine pavilions of IFEMA MADRID through a vibrant agenda of interactive activities organised by exhibitors, from live musicals, food tastings, accessibility awareness days, craft workshops and competitions. In addition, they will be able to access direct information on the extensive tourist offer of the destinations, from distant paradises to local gems.

Source: FITUR.