The city of Madrid leads the way in tourism innovation. Madrid City Council?s Tourism Office has implemented Vuelve a Madrid, a destination loyalty programme designed to encourage travellers to make a return visit to the capital. The programme is aimed at the more than 9.9 million visitors who come to the city each year and particularly to those who regularly travel to it for professional reasons. The initiative was presented yesterday, Tuesday, by Luis Cueto, the General Coordinator of the Mayor?s Office, along with Miguel Sanz, Director of Tourism. Cueto summed up the project with these words: ?What we are doing with this really innovative initiative is promoting Madrid, making the city grow, making its tourist offer even more attractive and making all the players in the tourism industry shine even more brightly. We have no doubts as to the importance of public-private collaboration".

This programme, which began in March 2017 and has been co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the ERDF operational programme, makes the capital the first major destination to have its own loyalty program, based on a catalogue of exclusive advantages and offers that can be redeemed through a points system. "You come to Madrid for Madrid Pride, you come back because of ARCO, you come another time to see a musical? You come to Madrid a thousand times," said Cueto.

Join the tourist value chain
This initiative forms part of a strategy laid out by Madrid City Council?s Tourism Office to provide the city?s tourism industry with innovative and effective marketing tools. The Vuelve a Madrid loyalty programme makes it easier for companies and institutions in Madrid to join the tourism value chain and it helps them to boost consumption of their products and/or services among a much wider audience.

The objectives of the programme are fourfold: to encourage repeat visits to destination Madrid; to increase tourism expenditure in the capital; to diversify consumption among tourists, promoting the consumption of new products and services or attracting them to areas outside the city centre; and to encourage sustainable tourism by deseasonalising tourist visits.

Special experiences, opportunities and discounts
More than 1,700 people have now already signed up for Vuelve a Madrid and more than fifty companies and institutions in Madrid have expressed their confidence in the programme by adhering to it. These include such major cultural gatherings as ARCO; leisure and entertainment references in the capital such as the tour of the Bernabéu Stadium, La Zarzuela Racecourse, the Wax Museum, and musicals and shows staged by the production companies Stage (responsible for the Spanish adaptation of The Bodyguard -El Guardaespaldas-) and Som Produce (currently staging Billy Elliot and El Mago Pop); flamenco venues like El Corral de la Moreria and Casa Patas, not to mention gastronomic establishments and events (La Esquina del Real, La Bola, Palacio de Cibeles or Madrid Fusion), shops (Seseña Capes) or mobility companies such as Tuk Tour Madrid and Segway Trip Madrid.

Membership is free of charge. All that is required is that you be of legal age and reside outside the city of Madrid. The programme allows visitors to enjoy experiences in gastronomy, leisure and entertainment, shopping, art, culture and nightlife, through special offers, opportunities and discounts obtained through a points redemption system.

How it works
To gain access to all the programme?s benefits and rewards, you must first register on the web www.vuelveamadrid.com (available in Spanish and English). Once the registration process has been completed, you will receive 600 welcome points that can be redeemed for free tickets, offers and discounts for exhibitions, shows, guided tours or shopping experiences, all of which can be enjoyed during your next visit to the city. In addition, users will be able to obtain more Madrid Points through seasonal campaigns, or as an incentive for participating in the programme.

Once you redeem your points for one of the offers in the programme, you download a coupon from the Vuelve a Madrid website with the chosen offer. You then have up to a maximum of three months to use the voucher in the establishment of your choice (the duration may vary depending on the offer). Coupons can be presented either physically in the establishment (printed or on your Smartphone), or in certain cases you can redeem them directly on the website of each establishment.

?Madrid is a city with magnificent hotels, superb restaurants, a fantastic culture? In short, Madrid is the bee?s knees!? said Cueto, while pointing out that initiatives such as this one ?show that the city and its people are capable of organising themselves and of talking to one another, trusting one another and understanding one other.?/