Light is the central theme chosen for the design of Madrid’s stand, with which the city council will convey the capital’s brilliance, vibrancy and identity

Madrid City Council presents a sensational experiential tour of Madrid at FITUR

Estand Ayuntamiento de Madrid en Fitur 23

FITUR is an opportunity for the city of Madrid to present its most innovative side to the whole world. Madrid City Council will take part in the International Tourism Fair, held at IFEMA Madrid from 18 to 22 January, with its own space in Hall 9 of the venue. This area will offer a nuanced sensory journey allowing attendees not only to discover, but to experience on site, some of the emotions and unique moments that Spain’s capital city offers its visitors.

Madrid’s light is the central theme of the stand shared by the city council and its regional government, which was designed by Madrid City Council this year. The capital shines with its own unique light, a radiance which has, thanks to the Landscape of Light, earned it a place on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Madrid’s bright sky will be simulated by means of a modular ceiling, with dozens of layers of recycled fabric used to evoke unique moments such as the city’s spectacular sunrises and sunsets.

It is below one of Madrid’s renowned intangible qualities, its light and sky, that the city council will also promote some of its other main hallmarks and tourist attractions in various themed spaces spread throughout the exhibition area. Delimited by projectable walls, these spaces will act as giant screens that showcase Madrid’s life, its cultural potential, historical and natural heritage, excellent cuisine, range of leisure and entertainment options, sports offerings, shopping and artisan goods, and its most recent developments. The areas are expected to be very vibrant, thanks to the presence and collaboration of some of the most representative institutions and companies from each of these segments, which are all part of Madrid’s tourism value chain, ranging from its museums, flamenco tablaos and shopping and leisure spaces to its top stage productions.

A sensory tour of Madrid

Each of the stand’s themed areas will offer experiences which together create a tour of Madrid based on the five senses. The “journey” begins with the sense of sight, which is drawn to the city’s light, its sky, its colours and projections of images showing the diversity and quality of its tourist offerings. The tour then continues with the sense of smell: the entire stand will be infused with a fresh, green, floral scent that calls to mind Madrid’s parks, gardens and rose gardens in the spring. The fragrance was created by artisan perfumer Ladenac, which has a range of perfumes associated with Madrid’s neighbourhoods, in this case, Las Salesas.

The sense of taste will be heightened by the flavours of typical Madrid foods and cuisine in various culinary activities. Meanwhile, the sense of hearing will be stimulated by the stand’s different ambient sounds—intended to represent Madrid’s joy, vitality and dynamism—as well as the sound of flamenco. Not forgetting the sense of touch, which will be explored with displays of painstaking traditional manual work and new creations being produced by local artisans. Other spaces will showcase regional experiences associated with sport, rural areas and wine tourism.

In addition, visitors will be able to “travel” to one of the city’s major tourist attractions, Plaza de Cibeles, via an immersive experience. They can also greet Pichi, a robot information agent that will advise them on the coolest ways to enjoy the city. Or maybe they’ll choose to take home a souvenir of this edition of FITUR from the stand’s photocall, which has the word “Madrid” lit up in the background. The design and content put together by the city council showcase the tangible and intangible qualities of Madrid; a city that’s buzzing with life and that shines with its own special light, thanks to its personality and charm which make it a destination brimming with one-of-a-kind experiences to be enjoyed by all.

Schedule of events and ceremonies

As part of FITUR, the city council will organise a range of presentations and meetings to promote the destination, in addition to incentivising and providing recognition for some of the key sectors in Madrid’s tourism industry. Among them are the usual Madrid Acoge, Hermestur and Best Guided Tour award ceremonies, as well as the traditional Madrid Day celebrations, which will take place on Friday 20 January. Meanwhile, a busy round of professional meetings will be held with representatives from national and international tourism industries.

FITUR Screen, FITUR LGBT+ and FITUR MICE

The city council will also be present at several of the fair’s monographic sections, such as FITUR Screen and FITUR LGBT+, with its own promotional spaces in each one which are shared with Madrid’s regional government. It is at these sections where the city council will promote audiovisual or screen tourism—via Madrid Film Office which works to promote Madrid as a film destination—and will draw attention to the open, tolerant spirit that distinguishes the city and makes it a benchmark for LGBT+ tourism.

What’s more, today and tomorrow the city council, via Madrid Convention Bureau (MCB), will be taking part in FITUR MICE, a specialised part of the fair that focuses on tourism associated with meetings, incentives, conferences and events. It’s a segment of great importance for Madrid, in which the Spanish capital is a leading global destination. The city is heading into 2023 with very good prospects in this area, having confirmed its status as host city for European Rotors 2023, the largest commercial vertical flight conference in Europe, and the second largest in the world. Information on the event will be presented tomorrow, and in November, it intends to draw over 4,000 business professionals to Madrid from almost 50 different countries. Securing the conference is an achievement that owes itself to the intense event attraction efforts and public-private partnership endeavours of Madrid City Council via MCB, from the bidding stage right up until the conference was confirmed.