Spain plays up Madrid to boost footfall

Spain witnessed a 17 per cent increase in visitors from the GCC region in 2024, shares Carlos Ruiz González, Director, Spanish Tourist Office – GCC Region, in a special interview with TRAVTALK. They brought in 20 key partners from Spain at the Arabian Travel Market this year with a view to securing top-of-mind call for travellers from the Middle East region.

Dr Shehara Fernando

Travellers from the Middle East have a special connection with Spain due to its cultural influence. Last month, two special events – Discover Europe meets Marhaba 2025 and Arabian Travel Market – saw 35 and 20 partners respectively from Spain in Dubai connecting with GCC travel trade.

Elaborating on their plans to promote the destinations, Carlos Ruiz González, Director, Spanish Tourist Office – GCC Region, said: “This time we brought in partners from different regions in Spain, DMCs, hoteliers from key chains and brands, which provided a good representation. We are focusing strongly on sustainable tourism, which is our main strategic direction moving forward. Among the key regions being highlighted are Madrid—not just the city, but the entire region, which has many attractions and is well connected. We also have a strong presence from Andalusia, including Marbella, and from the Balearic Islands with Mallorca.”

During 2024, Spain witnessed over 17 per cent increase in visitor numbers from the GCC region, with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates contributing 80 per cent of the total numbers, followed by the rest of the GCC.

González shared, “We are awaiting Q1 2025 final numbers in terms of visitors, but 2024 was a great year as 515,000 tourists arrived in Spain from GCC countries. Spanish destinations like Costa del Sol are quite popular with the GCC travellers.”

The tourism board of Spain in GCC have been conducting many presentations, roadshows and familiarisation trips for the travel trade over the past few months and increasing its awareness, especially in the two key markets of Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Some of the areas in Spain are known to the GCC travellers. However, Spain tourism is expanding its awareness campaign to include more lesser-known areas in the destination with the travel trade.