Marbella aims to put itself on the map at major travel market events in Europe, United States and the Middle East

Marbella has launched a major tourism promotion campaign in Europe, the United States and the Middle East according to the town’s head of tourism, Laura de Arce. Marbella will be promoted as a destination in New York, the WTM (World Travel Market) in London and the ILTM (International Luxury Travel Market) in Cannes, among others.

The national and international tourism campaign will take place at a dozen events over the next four months. De Arce said that the first of these events was the AIG Women's Open women's golf tournament, which ran recently until 13 August in Walton Heath, Surrey, in the UK.

The next destination is New York at the end of August "to seal alliances with a view to increasing our presence in the United States, a market that this year, according to data from INE (National Statistics Institute) increased tourism to Spain in the first quarter, with up to 1,800,000 tourists," said De Arce. The events will continue in September, with participation in the Picasso Celebration Malaga Event, organised by Turespaña and Planificación Costa del Sol.

The campaign will continue in October at IFTM Top Resa, which will be held between 3 and 5 October "and offers numerous business opportunities, given the boom in French tourism in recent years” to Sapin, De Arce explained. The campaign will then move to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Dubai for conferences organised by the Spanish Luxury Association, "places where we want to pay special attention this year, given the continuous increase in visitors from the Persian Gulf".

The town will also be promoted at the IGTM (International Golf Travel Market), which this year is being held in Lisbon between 16 and 19 October, with Marbella having its own stand and 35 appointments over the three days.

The WTV will be happening in London in November, where Tourism and Planning Costa del Sol will also have a stand and where the Marbella team will be looking to attract visitors during the autumn and winter months according to De Arce. Finally, to conclude the year, the Marbella team will attend the ILTM (International Luxury Travel Market), which is taking place in Cannes.