Díaz Ayuso presents the 2023/26 Tourism Strategy with 125 initiatives: “We want to create the best conditions to be the best hosts”

The objective is to continue attracting visitors from markets such as North America, Asia and Latin America, advancing in the diversification of demand and the growth of the average stay time, which results in greater spending by travelers on this type of travel, all with a responsible management model.

As the president has detailed, in 2022 12 and a half million tourists visited the Community of Madrid, being one of the first destinations that managed to recover its activity after the pandemic. “And 2023 is on track to beat that record, since according to our forecasts we are going to reach 14 million tourists who will spend around 15.000 million euros. “We are in the best moment in our tourist history,” she stressed.

More than 400 public and private agents from the sector have participated in the development of this Strategy, and 20 lines of work are planned, such as creating new Tourism Innovation Centers in the regions of Sierra Oeste, Sierra de Guadarrama and Las Vegas-Alcarria. Madrid, and promote the Tourism Innovation Center already existing in Sierra Norte.

It is also contemplated to decentralize tourism by promoting activities in cultural destinations that are UNESCO World Heritage: Alcalá de Henares, Aranjuez and San Lorenzo de El Escorial; in the 11 Villas of Madrid and in the more than 100 Madrid municipalities that make up MadRural.

Beautify the old towns

Another notable measure is to organize projects by region to beautify the old town centers of Madrid's municipalities, improve their cultural offering (with exhibitions, concerts, theater...), their hotel and restaurant offering (such as wineries with tastings, for example, and new restaurants with local products) and thus boost rural overnight stays.
The Spanish cultural offer is going to multiply. “That is, what differentiates us and what tourism seeks so much when it visits us. And we are going to do it through, for example, Spanish dance and flamenco with the new Spanish Ballet of the Community of Madrid,” said Díaz Ayuso, who has also spoken of continuing to expand the Madrid Turismo by IFEMA project, which is helping to promote the region in distant markets, such as North America, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

Another line contemplated by the Strategy is to turn large cultural events such as Hispanidad into tradition, now that the third anniversary of the one organized by the regional Executive has passed, which attracts thousands of new tourists each year. On the other hand, the Madrid Government is going to promote the region through filming and audiovisual platforms.

The Government will also work to attract other major cultural, sporting or gastronomic events, which in addition to spreading the name of Madrid, have a great impact on the economy and employment; and in reinforcing tourism promotion and marketing aimed at both professionals in the sector and the public, through campaigns, social networks and professional fairs.

Young talent in tourist areas

On the other hand, the president explained that tourist information and attention services will be reinforced through digitalization with new applications and a new tourist portal in different languages, as well as with tools adapted to specific markets such as China. The Community of Madrid will also promote music and the exhibition of art by students and talent "in the surroundings of museums and places of special heritage and cultural tourist interest in the capital and in all the municipalities of Madrid." ”, added the president.

Other actions include launching specific campaigns for each type of tourism: cultural, gastronomic, wine, conferences, rural, sports, learning Spanish, shopping, golf, nightlife or in the natural environment; and design customized experiences and routes, such as family tourism, industrial tourism, traditional gastronomy, fashion and art routes, water tourism, or oil mills and cheese factories.

Improve air connection with distant markets, especially the United States, and Asia, implement a specific plan against seasonality, organizing events and campaigns in the months of lower demand and review the tourism regulations of the Community of Madrid, to continue multiplying the investments are also added to the list of the work plan.

2023, year of records for the sector

During the first half of 2023, the Community of Madrid achieved the best evolution of international tourist arrivals in the country, and in the first seven months 3,7 million foreign visitors were reached, 37% more than in the same period of the previous year. .

The greatest growth occurs in the North American and Latin American markets - such as the Mexican market - and recovery is already beginning to be noticed in the case of Asia. Regarding traveler spending, it exceeded 6.200 million euros, 48% more than last year, and specifically in June the highest in the historical series was recorded with 1.337 million, 31,1% more than in June 2022.

If this evolution continues, 2023 will be a record year in this matter, since according to forecasts it may reach 14 million tourists, who will leave close to 15.000 billion euros in the region.

This economic sector contributes 7% of the regional GDP directly, and around 18% if its indirect and induced effect is considered. Madrid has also become a thriving hotel investment destination, with more than 30 projects in the pipeline planned for the coming months.