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Spain tours UAE, Saudi; presents its best

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Separate from Spain Tourism’s roadshow that visited Jeddah, Riyadh and Dubai, Madrid (pictured here) conducted an online workshop promoting its luxury offerings to agents in the region

 
Spain Tourism hosted its first post-pandemic travel and trade roadshow in the GCC after international travel bans were lifted this summer. The first roadshow took place in Jeddah on October 25, followed by Riyadh on 26 and the last one took place in Dubai on October 28.

All three events saw a huge turnout as key travel agents and industry experts were excited to learn more about Spain’s new promotions and offerings after the ease of international travel restrictions. Spain was represented by the regions of Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Andalusia and Costa del Sol, along with renowned hotels and DMCs.

Ameen Saduk, General Manager of Al Maha United Travel from Saudi Arabia the Jeddah roadshow said: “This is my first physical roadshow post pandemic and I thank Spain Tourism for the tremendous effort. The roadshow allowed us to build new relationships and strengthen existing ones with our partners in Spain, which will help us in creating new holiday packages for the Saudi traveller in the coming months.

Mohamad Korjieh, Sales Manager of Time Travel, commented on Riyadh Roadshow: “We were very happy to receive an invitation for a physical roadshow after long time of attending the events virtually, we were very impressed of the level of organization that Spain Tourism had displayed. Spain has always been an attractive destination for Saudi families and sports enthusiasts; however, we now know that Spain has a lot more to offer as a destination; accordingly, we will work alongside our new Spanish partners towards developing and promoting exciting new holiday packages that target other traveller segments.”

Saudia airline operates direct flights from Jeddah to Madrid five times a week, and from Riyadh to Madrid three times a week. These two direct routes will be a key point in driving tourism from Saudi Arabia in the coming period, after the ease of travel restrictions in both countries.

Spain Tourism is continuously developing and implementing highly-targeted marketing and public relations activities through industry experts in the region, to engage and educate Saudi Arabia’s outbound travel professionals, so they in turn develop innovative and exciting holiday packages to Spain that showcase the destination’s unique offerings and experiences.

Daniel Rosado, Director of Spain Tourism – GCC, said, “We are very pleased to see the impressive turnout of travel agents and industry leaders at all three events, and it is always great to hear that many agencies are eager to resume promoting Spain. With our continuous efforts to strengthen the connections between the region’s outbound travel professionals and Spain Tourism’s travel industry partners, we are hopeful that the numbers of Saudi and the rest of GCC visitors to Spain will grow in the coming period, especially with winter holiday seasons coming up.”

Spain is a one-of-a-kind destination, showing traces of many cultures and civilizations evident in the ancient Roman architecture, medieval castles and buildings of the Golden Islamic era. Spain is also home to 49 Unesco World Heritage Sites and offers a wide variety of lifestyle experiences including exclusive luxury and gourmet experiences, entertainment, and shopping, making it ideal for families and groups seeking meaningful travel that creates lifetime memories.

“We have been actively promoting the destination and engaging with the trade partners. We are delighted to know that Spain is one of the top outbound destinations. This summer, we have seen great numbers from UAE and KSA in particular. Spain has one of the highest vaccination rates in Europe, with 80 per cent of its population fully vaccinated. This is very reassuring for travellers in the region,” said Namratha Rose, Manager, Marketing and Trade Relations, Spain Tourism.

The UAE now joins the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait and Bahrain in the list of countries that will be able to travel to Spain for touristic purposes without the need for a diagnostic test or a certificate of vaccination or immunity. In other words, tourists can travel regardless having any vaccination, diagnostic or recovery certificate.

However, before travelling to Spain (even in transit) all passengers must have the QR code, which is obtained from filling in the Health Control Form (FCS in Spanish), available in Spain Travel Health (www.spth.gob.es). Airlines or maritime companies may ask for the FCS QR code before boarding and the personnel of the control devices in the airports and ports at the point of arrival will also be checking the QR code.  

 


 

CASTILLA LA MANCHA DAY MARKED

THE Spain Pavilion dedicated November 15, 16 and 17 to Castilla la Mancha with three days full of activities related to the autonomous community. The Spain Pavilion presented to the public of Expo 2020 Dubai the cultural and gastronomic tradition of Castilla La Mancha, a Spanish autonomous community that is a tourist destination with lots of interesting offers for lovers of nature and culture.

The event was inaugurated by the President of Castilla la Mancha, Emiliano García-Page Sánchez, welcomed by The Spanish Ambassador in UAE, Íñigo de Palacio España followed by a destination presentation by the Regional Minister of Economy, Patricia Franco to the audience that included partners from travel trade and media.

Daniel Rosado, Director of Spain Tourism GCC, updated the gathering about Spain’s current protocols and offerings. The presentation was followed by a tasting of Castilla La Mancha gastronomy with a show cooking by the Michelin star chef Iván Cerdeño, and a recital of Sephardic music by Ana Alcaide. In addition, there were demonstrations of typical artisanal traditions of Castilla La Mancha, with damascene crafts, Talavera de la Reina ceramics and silk painting.

Castilla La Mancha is a region in central Spain and most famous as the home of 17th-century novel character Don Quixote. It is a land of vineyards, castles and windmills, and mountain ranges.

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