Tag Archives: Spain tourism

Spain tourism authority announced a significant rise in the number of visitors coming from the GCC as they welcomed 430,000, while the number of visitors from Saudi Arabia increased by 92% and from the UAE by 16% compared to the previous year. Spanish tourism authority Turespana also shared the latest recommendations revealed by the Turespana campaign and other tourist places outside of Madrid, Barcelona and Andalusia to spend a great summer visiting the country. With summer approaching, high temperatures and longer daylight hours offering more opportunities to explore the city, there’s no better place to spend summer than Spain. The country combines festivals, food and hidden gems around every corner, offering a variety of experiences beyond the traditional tourist points of Madrid, Barcelona and Andalusia. Whether you’re travelling with family, couples or alone, the country offers an amazing mix of diverse adventures. For tourists from the GCC in particular, rugged mountains, desirable coastlines and desert-like areas, as well as two groups of beautiful islands – the Balearic and Canary Islands – offer the perfect getaway for enjoyable cultural holidays. There is more to explore in the country, than many imagine. The Balearic Islands archipelago is located off the east coast of Spain and consists of the islands of Mallorca, Ibiza, Formentera and Menorca. Mallorca features mountain ranges ideal for cycling and hiking, as well as boutique hotels set amidst lush countryside gardens, and the city’s rooftop bars, making you want to explore every corner. Valde Musa, Soller, Pollença , and Puerto Portals is one of the most loved destinations for luxury holiday seekers. Ibiza, or “White Island”, is famous for its nightclubs, sunsets and tranquil Boho atmosphere, but it’s not …

Wego offers travelers an unforgettable experience in Spain this summer. Wego and Spain Tourism will be promoting the best things to do in the country and sharing guides and tips on how to spend the best summer holiday. This strategic collaboration brings together the extensive reach and expertise of Wego in the online travel industry and the allure of Spain’s rich cultural heritage, stunning landscapes, and vibrant cities. Summer in Spain is one of the most enjoyable travel experiences. The vibrant cities such as Madrid and Barcelona offer a plethora of shopping options from high end boutiques to traditional markets that are perfect for every type of traveler. Mamoun Hmedan, Chief Commercial Officer and Managing Director, MENA and India, Wego, said: “Spain is a preferred destination for MENA travelers. Through our partnership with Spain Tourism, we aim to attract a wider audience and boost tourism to this captivating country. We will be providing curated itineraries, and personalized travel recommendations, to inspire and assist travelers in planning their dream trips to Spain.” Wego will showcase Spain’s diverse attractions, including its historic landmarks, breathtaking beaches, and world-renowned culinary scene, to its vast user base. Daniel Rosado, Director of Spain Tourism for the Middle East, said: “Spain is a well-known country in the GCC region and it’s experiencing a continuous increase in demand year after year. To consolidate this trend and build on it, we are partnering up with Wego to reach more and better the potential audience. Spain is a world in a country where travellers will find all they are looking for and that they desire, as Spain caters for all tourists. Through this campaign we will increase the awareness in …

Turespaña in partnership with Emirates Holidays conducted a B2B activation at the newly launched Emirates World store at the Town Centre Mall ,Jumeirah. This is first of a kind activity at the store and had around 25 select HNWI clients of Emirates Holidays to whom Daniel Rosado – Director , Spain Tourism presented the many offerings from Spain to the Emirati clients in particular . The event started off with the guests  experiencing zero alcohol grape beverages from Bodegas Torres- a renowned Spanish winery that has been quite popular with Middle Eastern clients followed by some light entertainment for the guests who won various prizes like Spanish goodie bags and gift hampers.” Speaking with Tourism breaking news Daniel Rosado, Director Spain Tourism GCC, reiterated, “ It’s always great to interact with direct customers and understand their viewpoints and expectations about Spain as a destination . It was a good turn out and we were very happy to learn that most of the customers have been to Spain at least once and have Spain on their mind for the upcoming holidays “ Namratha Rose, Marketing Manager Spain tourism shared, “ We have been trying to conduct different kinds of activities to promote Spain and this collaboration with emirates holidays is definitely a good one as this is the first time we had an in store activity and it was good to see everybody experience a bit of Spain and enjoy their time at the store . We will be having more of these activities for our B2C clients in the coming months as well  “  

70 top travel trade agents and influencers were invited for the official kick start celebrating the legacy of Picasso in Dubai. Irina Sanchis Vives, Deputy Head of Mission, Political and cultural affairs, embassy of Spain in UAE graced the occasion and shared that in order to celebrate the 50th death anniversary of Picasso, the government of France and Spain have put together many events to celebrate this great artist’s legacy and from the embassy in UAE they will be working together with the tourism board of Spain in UAE to enable this celebration. The event was held in four parts, of which the first was involving the best Emirati travel influencers with travel trade partners, the Spain tourism Director and Marketing Manager who were engaged in painting an artwork provided for them to celebrate the legacy of Picasso. Second was the presentations by the key speakers, Tourism Director of Spain Tourism GCC, Daniel Rosado shared about the destination and on the celebration of Picasso. Thirdly was the surprise with a unique entertainment based on costumes which depicted the artwork of Picasso and finally was the delectable dinner which included some Spanish dishes enjoyed by all the trade partners. As Spain was one of the first countries to open hence, they received a high number of visitors especially from the GCC. This year was a record year for Spain tourism as they hit the 2019 numbers by GCC and considering worldwide they hit 90 percent of the 83 million received in 2019 which is a great start and a very positive recovery. Spain emerged among the top recovered destinations, as, instead of resting on its laurels, Spain has been proactively working …

The Spain Tourism office in Abu Dhabi celebrated an event to celebrate the World Paella Day. The event was held in El Sur restaurant – The Westin Mina Seyahi , Dubai with trade partners from different sectors, including travel trade profesionals , influencers and media. The objective of this event was to promote and to share with the world the iconic Spanish dish, its different variations and its origin. For this reason, everyone was able to see the chef prepare and cook the different types of paellas (seafood, chicken, vegetarian & black paella ) while also sharing some insights about the history of this special dish. The menu also presented typical spanish starters (croquetas, cheese) and ended with some “churros”  . Invitees could also enjoy a traditional show of our typical Flamenco dance, which was one of the key moments of the evening. This year was quite special as this year was the first time a chef represented UAE at the Paella World Cup. This years’ edition has taken place from the 16 to 20 of September, gathering the best chefs  from all over the world in Valencia, Spain. Representing the United Arab Emirates-our candidate, Chef Piedade Fernandes along with Mariano from Sevilles . He was just 20 years old when he switched  from playing  football to cooking. Since then, he has been working for 22 years at the Seville’s Restaurant in Dubai, where he is in charge of the paella section, among other activities. Our representative was able to attain the final quarters elaborating a “classic paella”. Piedade was able to return with the 4th position for best paella chefs in the world. The World Paella Day aims to …

Turespaña, is the Spanish public body responsible for promoting Spain as a tourism destination, also part of the Spanish Embassy in the United Arab Emirates. The Spanish Business Council is a private non-profit organization acting as a corporate platform to strengthen business and cultural ties between Spain and the United Arab Emirates. For the past 16 years, their team has been introducing Spanish companies to the UAE market, both in the public and private sectors. This September, both organizations will launch the second edition of a thrilling gastronomic initiative, as a tribute to Spanish cuisine, the “Spanish Thursdays”. It will be hosted on September 8th and the operation will carry out a Thursday every two weeks, starting on Thursday, September 8th and ending on Thursday, November 24th. The “Spanish Thursdays” will take guests on a culinary tour of the SBC’s 7 member restaurants. · Thursday September 8th: Salero · Thursday September 22nd: Casa de Tapas · Thursday October 6th: Lola Taberna · Thursday October 20th: Central · Thursday November 3rd: 99 sushi bar · Thursday November 10th: Stage · Thursday November 24th: Seville´s The aim is to let Dubai residents discover the real Spanish culture and to ignite patrons appetite for its rich and flavourful cuisine. For those who have never visited Spain, this will be the opportunity to explore Spanish food and understand its relevant place in terms of culture and history. Hoping the experience will entice guests to travel to the sunny peninsula someday! During the “Spanish Thursdays”, exciting raffles will give the chance to win Taste of Spain and La despensa food hampers and Centaurus wine bottles. For those who unfortunately will not be able to attend, …

After the announcement of Spain opening to all vaccinated international travellers on 7th June 2021, there was much excitement all across the UAE and other parts of GCC. One of the main reasons was the acceptance of not only European Union accepted vaccinations but also those accepted by the WHO. Tourism office of Spain in Gulf Countries hosted their first travel trade event in Dubai at the newly opened  luxury hotel St.Regis the Palm with all leading travel professionals attending the event. Namratha Rose- Manager Marketing and Trade Relations Spain Tourism GCC said, “It was amazing to see so many agents turn up for the event and I am extremely happy to see that the travel trade partners are so keen to promote Spain this summer. We had an attendance of 60+ partners from renowned travel companies , airlines, representatives of Spanish hotel brands and 7 destination partners from Spain present virtually. The main aim of this event was to celebrate Spain opening up and to inform the travel trade partners with all the recent updates, developments and offerings of Spain,launch our new campaign and also to thank them for their continued support in promoting Spain as a preferred destination from the UAE.” She welcomed and  introduced all the partners present at the event and handed over  the stage to the Director of Spain Tourism to present and  launch the new campaign . Daniel Rosado, Director of Spain Tourism for the Gulf countries, in his opening remarks stated that after many months of meeting agents online, it was refreshing to see them face to face. He reiterated in detail the entry requirements for travellers from the GCC, the new health certificate which …

The final in the tri-series of the Re-discover Spain campaign to feature some of the most interesting areas in the destination was held with over 180 agents from the Middle East attending the sessions. Starting off the webinar was Daniel Rosado Bayon – Director-Spain Tourism GCC & Iran, “Our main focus is to facilitate the travel trade to obtain relevant information about the destination. As a year-round destination, Spain has endless possibilities from beautiful beach resorts and experiences to ski resorts. Whatever you need you can email us or ask us for more information over our website as well.  Thank you for attending the webinars and we hope that you learnt a lot about the different areas in our destination. At present, there are still restrictions and precautions undertaken by the authorities and we are awaiting the decision by the EU to open borders, we hope that by end of spring or beginning of summer. By August 2021, 70% of the population in Spain will be vaccinated. Connectivity-wise, we have flights from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, and Doha to Madrid and Barcelona, but currently awaiting the opening of borders.” Laura Marichal Báez​-Tourist Promotion Coordinator – Tenerife Select – “Tenerife Select, is a tourist brand that brings together the most exclusive offers in the island. It is a luxurious experience for all your clients with local companies contributing immensely. Our climate which is 23C year-round with sun until 9 pm (in summer) is unique and most popular. There are 10 main reasons to select Tenerife; well -connected with over 70 airlines operating pre-covid time. All year around good climate, quality, and excellence with luxurious and personalized holidays tailor-made exclusively. Unique accommodation …

In a few hours, you will be transported to the beautiful Spanish islands by 3 experts as they conduct the final in the tri-series Rediscover Spain webinar with Daniel Rosado Bayon – Director-Spain Tourism GCC & Iran,  Laura Marichal Báez​-Tourist Promotion Coordinator – Tenerife Select, Maximo Caletrio-Market Manager – Brand Management Department, Visit Valencia and Carlos Bernús Blanch, Tourist Promotion Manager – Island Council of Formentera. Daniel Rosado Bayon – Director-Spain Tourism GCC & Iran – “There is much more to know about Spain as Spain being a year round destination, the possibilities in the country are endless. From stunning landscapes to vibrant cities and towns to Arab heritage and great shopping- Spain has it all. With these webinars , we will have an interesting journey through different regions of Spain and get a better understanding of its offering.” Laura Marichal Báez​-Tourist Promotion Coordinator – Tenerife Select – “Tenerife, a  Spanish island located in the Canary Islands, is a renowned luxury destination in Europe known as Atlantic Hawaii, as it has a year-round spring climate. Tenerife can offer the GCC market a wide range of services and facilities designed to meet the needs of the most demanding clients, with a renovated and extensive hotel infrastructure and with an excellent selection of modern and luxurious complimentary leisure offer, which positions us as the leading choice in the Canary Islands and the second-best luxury destination in Spain.” Maximo Caletrio-Market Manager – Brand Management Department, Visit Valencia, “València’s geographical location makes it an excellent operational base from which to explore the rest of Spain. At just an hour and a half from Madrid by train, three hours from Barcelona by car, and with …

The first session in a tri-series webinar of Spain Tourism was concluded with over 180 agents across the Middle East region. Starting off the session, Daniel Rosado Bayon – Director –Spain Tourism GCC stated how the first webinar will take place focusing on four key areas; Malaga, Cordoba, Granada, and Seville. “Spain developed a travel safe campaign and all information pertaining to it could be accessed via the website. Many precautions and measures have been taken by Spain focusing on summer travel upon confirmation by the EU. Connectivity-wise, before the pandemic, had the best connections over the national carriers from UAE, Saudi, and Qatar etc. There are certain exceptions where people can still travel to Spain. They must show a health control form which needs to be filled or over the app and have it completed and show the QR code on arrival and negative PCR test 72 hours to boarding are some of the criteria. However, the situation is controlled in Spain, almost 70% of the country will be vaccinated soon. We are helping agents as much as we can to obtain the knowledge necessary before the borders open and after it does open we hope to conduct fam trips with of course keeping safety and security regulations in mind.” Costa del sol was presented by Belen Perez Gascon – Business Development Manager – Costa del Sol Tourist Board and Pilar Carrión – Executive Consultant Tourismo Promotion – Costa del Sol Tourist Board followed by Andalusion Soul with Antonio Montejo Romero – Tourism Promotion Department – Tourism and Promotion Area of the City – Malaga City Council and Seville presented by – Diego Juárez – International Promotion & MICE …