Spain eyes KSA as potential market

Following the lifting of international travel bans, Spain Tourism has successfully organised its first post-pandemic travel and trade roadshows in the GCC. The first roadshow was held in Jeddah on October 25, 2021, and another was organised in Riyadh on October 26, 2021. The crowd at both the events was seen to be believed.

Shehara Rizly

The two roadshows saw impressive turnouts as significant travel agencies and industry experts were eager to learn more about Spain’s new promotions and offerings after the easing of the international travel restrictions. Partners from Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Andalusia, and the Costa del Sol, and the notable hotel and DMC partners from Spain, were in attendance at the events.

Ameen Saduk, General Manager, Al Maha United Travel, comments following his participation in the Jeddah roadshow, “This is my first physical roadshow post-pandemic, and I thank Spain Tourism for the tremendous effort. The roadshow allowed us to build new ties and strengthen existing ones with our partners in Spain, which will help us in creating new holiday packages for Saudi travellers in the coming months. Now that the agents in Jeddah are more familiar with Spain, we anticipate a surge in demand for the destination in the KSA market, and an increase in the number of Saudi travellers to Spain in the near future.”

Mohamad Korjieh, Sales Manager, Time Travel, asserts about the Riyadh roadshow, “We were really thrilled to receive an invitation for a physical roadshow after a long time of attending the events virtually. We were impressed of the level of organisation that Spain Tourism had displayed. Spain has always been an attractive destination for Saudi families and sports enthusiasts, however, we now understand that Spain has a lot more to offer as a destination. Accordingly, we will work with our new Spanish partners to develop and promote exciting new holiday packages that target other traveller segments.”

Daniel Rosado, Director of Spain Tourism-GCC, following the events in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, says, “We are pleased to see the turnouts at all three events. It is great to hear that many agencies are eager to promote Spain now that travel curbs have been lifted.  We hope that the number of Saudi and GCC tourists to Spain will increase as a result of our efforts to strengthen links between the region’s outbound travel professionals and Spain Tourism’s travel partners.”

“It is a great feeling to be back with live events and the roadshow in Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia as they are potential markets for Spain,” says Namratha Rose, Marketing Manager, Spain Tourism.