Close on the heels of Emirates’ route launch to Madrid, providing the only scheduled passenger service between Dubai, UAE, and Spain, Turismo Madrid completed a roadshow across the region to showcase its high-end offerings.
The daily, non-stop service begins from August 1, making Madrid the carrier’s 25th destination in Europe.
José María López Montes, head of international markets and sponsorship for Turismo Madrid commented: “We are aware that the Middle East will become a strong market for Madrid. While we don’t have any recorded figures in terms of arrivals, we are interested in tapping into the high level of Arab tourists travelling to other parts of Europe. This is the perfect opportunity for us with the launch of Emirates’ new route. Madrid is also well connected with Doha as Qatar Airways provides non-stop daily flights.”
Madrid offers a wide range of leisure activites for tourists and Montes wants to spread awareness of the area, not just of the city but also more than 100 surrounding towns.
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The city at night |
“From natural landscapes to UNESCO heritage sites, theme parks for families to more than 17 Michelin-starred restaurants, we have a diverse range of offerings for our tourists,” he said.
With the boost in air connections from the region, Montes believes the city, which has more than 24 five-star hotels, will see an increase in Mice travel and Madrid Tourismo is planning to target this sector.
Last year Madrid was the only region in Spain showing positive growth with a recorded nine million visitors and this number is expected to increase in 2010 with arrivals from the Middle East showing a steady improvement.
The tourism roadshow began in Kuwait and covered cities across the GCC including Abu Dhabi and Dubai, UAE, and Doha, Qatar.