This is what Andalucía's ground-breaking 3.3-million-euro investment at major international tourism fair will look like

A ground-breaking, comprehensive, innovative, sustainable and more professional approach. This is how the Junta's regional minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Arturo Bernal, described the new promotional campaign for Andalucía, which will make its debut this week in Madrid at the 44th edition of the International Tourism Fair (Fitur), which begins on Wednesday 24 January.

"We are going to have the best Fitur in history," Bernal said in Jerez last week after announcing the details of the new stand, which will have 1,200 square metres more than before, totalling 6,500 metres. The stand will have a technological exhibition, with smart wristbands, a central square for tourist destinations and cities and a larger space for professionals to increase the generation of business opportunities.

Bernal emphasised that this display will showcase an integrated and cross-cutting offer. "We have made a great effort to unite the destinations … in order to integrate them into the region's space. We wanted to combine synergies between destinations, regions and between segments and I believe that we are going to achieve a positive interrelationship," he said. However, this concept has generated mistrust in some administrations and has led, for example, to Malaga city no longer having its own stand at this international tourism fair event, after twenty years.

The regional minister insisted on the value of this unity of destinations, and said that it will allow a deepening in “the strategy of interconnection that is giving such good results for the tourism industry”. Bernal said that this unprecedented deployment of the Andalusian brand at Fitur involves an investment of 3.3 million euros that will be "more innovative, with more content, more presentations and more space". The aim is to work on four central objectives: improving connectivity, making progress in the management of seasonality, innovation, sustainability and co-governance, which Bernal considers a priority in the region's tourism management.

The exhibition will be divided into three zones. The entrance will have a multi-sensory area that will allow visitors to immerse themselves in Andalucía. There will be more professional presence than ever, with nearly 200 companies, three times more than in 2023, and more than 130 work tables.

The Andalusian Crush campaign is going to be one of the strengths of the marketing strategy. "The Fitur spot gives a glimpse of the philosophy of the new campaign … in which we are going to value our essence, our values that make us unique in balance with innovation and sustainability," Bernal said.