FITUR 2022: technology and tourism to regain momentum

2022’s Feria FITUR in Madrid just wrapped up and we can confirm that it was very successful. The theme of the event was “Embracing the world. We are tourism.” The tourism sector has experienced difficult times since COVID-19 arrived, but this event was defined by its optimism and desire to look forward. 

A total of 6,933 companies participated in FITUR 2022, with international representation from 107 countries and regions and 600 leaders offering their best advice. It was an event that, following FITUR 2021 (the first since COVID), offered a digital space (FITUR LIVEConnect) to make it available to anyone, even those that couldn’t physically attend. 

Attending FITUR allowed us to dive into the newest trends in global tourism, both nationally and internationally, and support our clients on their future visions. FITUR was the best way to get the travel bug again. 

Tourism Trends: inclusion and security 

The connection of technology and tourism has been one of the most interesting topics for us. Under the FITURTechY umbrella, various forums and meetings were held to debate the possibilities of using technology to evolve tourism. We’re not going to plan trips like we did before; we’re not getting our information from the same channels and the user has much more freedom to design their own experiences and find destinations and places to stay that adapt to what they’re looking for, and not the other way around. 

The concern about accessibility was one of the updates in tourism addressed at FITUR. We attended a discussion about institutional representatives of tourism  (Carme Rubio de Cataluña and Rosa Mª Ivars Llopis de la Comunidad Valenciana), moderated by Francisco Rodríguez. “Technology gives us tools to advance,” said Rubio, who also agreed that “we have to ensure that knowledge and research are used to improve accessibility” and that “digitalization can’t be an era that we enter and then abandon.” 

National tourism and international tourism coincide in their desire to be sustainable. We had the opportunity to attend a roundtable discussion about sustainability as an opportunity to redesign the industry, which highlighted the importance of reinventing your company through incorporating process technology, without losing sight of social responsibility and having a positive impact on the environment. 

One reason for celebration during this conference was the 10th anniversary of FITUR LGBT+, the section dedicated to tourism for this community which encompasses more than 10% of tourism at a global level and 16% of total travel expenses. We know that the LGBT community plays a major role in tourism and is a very attractive seasonal factor for companies.

We Are Marketing: tourism experience 

We are aware of the challenges of tourism marketing and our visit to FITUR served as a way to increase our expertise as a digital consultancy specialized in this sector. We’ve provided support to the companies with which we work, which can show their positive results. AR Hotels also attended FITUR; in their work together with We Are Marketing, we achieved a 15% increase of direct web billing in the last part of the summer season, through an inbound marketing strategy centered on company values.

Attending the FITUR conference meant soaking up the creativity of tourism teams for all kinds of destinations. In addition, we learned about regional traditions and what they can contribute to tourism. 

A year later, FITUR was a necessary event to discover the latest tourism trends, check the pulse of the sector, and create new alliances and synergies with other experts. 2022 can be a year of recuperation and optimism and we’re going to keep working in this direction to provide ideas, strategies, and successful proposals.