One year has passed since the Madrid Experts in Tourism Panel had its first meeting to get the ball rolling for this project, which is driven by the Regional Government of Madrid and the Madrid City Council, with the collaboration in the direction and management of IFEMA MADRID. With this project, the promotion of Madrid as a tourist destination in long-haul inbound markets is done under a single brand and in collaboration with the tourism industry of Madrid.

Juan Arrizabalaga, Managing Director of IFEMA MADRID, states: “Madrid Turismo by IFEMAMADRID is not only strategic for Madrid´s positioning as a preferred destination for high value tourism at an international level, but also for the different actors that make up the tourism industry and are ambassadors of the Madrid brand. Therefore, we are proud to be at the forefront of the management of this ambitious promotional project, and to contribute to it from our position as the main player of business tourism in the country”.

With a budget of 36 million euros, the project has so far approved a total of 20 million euros of investment in five top tier actions: 7 million euros in large digital marketing campaigns; 5 million euros in air connectivity; 3 million euros in branded content; 3 million euros in co-marketing; and 2 million euros in KOLS & influencer marketing campaigns. All of them target the USA and Canada, Latin America, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Middle East, China, and Southeast Asia.

Air Connectivity

In terms of air connectivity, a commercial plan has been put into place to establish conversations with over 10 airlines with the ultimate goal of establishing direct links with strategic destinations in Asia, increasing the frequency of existing connections and the signing of an agreement with Iberia for the new Madrid-Doha air connection, a project that will provide 44 new connections in Asia Pacific and 26 in the Middle East, with an economic impact for the region of 55 million euros in the first year.

Promotional Activities

During this first year, promotional actions have been implemented in 16 countries and all of them are considered preferred destinations in terms of the high-value outbound tourism they offer. All of them had previously undergone the approval and bidding processes. The project includes major B2B and B2C digital marketing campaigns, campaign sites in 11 languages, the development of branded content pieces in major general and economic media, co-marketing actions with paid media and TTOOs, key opinion leaders (KOLs) and influencer marketing campaigns, presentations at the long-haul inbound markets, and the production and generation of content for the #onlyinmadrid campaign.