Curious if FITUR is worth a visit? Whether you’re a travel professional, a content creator, or simply a passionate traveler, here’s my honest take on the event and its organization after visiting for the first time this January.
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What is FITUR?
FITUR, or Feria Internacional de Turismo, is the annual International Tourism Fair held in Madrid, Spain. It takes place every year at the end of January at IFEMA, the capital’s main exhibition center. Considered one of the largest tourism events in the world, FITUR brings together tourism boards and companies from across the travel industry.
Why visit FITUR?
FITUR is widely known in the travel industry as one of the most important events for networking, discovering potential partners, and gaining insight into future tourism trends. However, over the weekend the fair opens to the general public, making it accessible to anyone who loves travel, wants to explore new destinations, or is interested in getting first-hand information about their favorite places.
In this post, I’ll share my personal opinion on FITUR’s reputation, a few helpful tips, and all the pros and cons of visiting the fair from a content creator’s perspective.
My experience at FITUR
I’ve been curious about FITUR for years while living in Spain – it’s very well known here, even among people who don’t work in the tourism industry – but I had never actually attended. Mostly, I tend to avoid crowded places, and unless I’m certain an event will be worth it, I usually skip it. This year, everything finally aligned. I was invited to a presentation in Madrid that coincided with FITUR, so I decided to attend for one day and share an honest, first-hand perspective as a travel blogger and content creator.
I’d like to highlight that this post reflects only my personal experience and honest impressions. I don’t work with FITUR, and I purchased my own day pass (around €30 when bought online) to experience the fair just like any other visitor. This allows me to form an unbiased opinion and share it with those of you who are considering attending in the future.
FITUR for Content Creators & Travel Professionals
The first three days of FITUR usually take place on weekdays and are open exclusively to tourism professionals, while the fair opens to the general public over the weekend. I visited on Thursday with a friend, and my first impressions were quite shocking – I honestly never expected it to be that crowded on a day that’s supposed to be B2B only, with the general audience not even there yet.
It’s also worth mentioning that FITUR wasn’t my first experience at an international trade fair. Years ago, when I worked for a ceramic tiles company, I attended some of the most important industry fairs in Europe, such as CEVISAMA in Valencia, as well as CERSAIE in Italy. Within the travel industry, I’ve only attended TBEX in San Sebastian once, which is a much smaller international event focused on travel bloggers.
So, while the overall setup of a large international fair felt familiar to me because of my previous work experience, I was still completely unprepared for the sheer scale and crowds at FITUR.
How FITUR Works
So here are a few insights on how FITUR works, for anyone planning to visit for the first time and unsure of what to expect or how to plan their day.
The fair is usually open from around 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM, and entry is done by scanning your ticket directly from your phone. While there is a ticket office on-site, given how crowded FITUR gets, it’s important to purchase your ticket online in advance.
I arrived early because I was meeting a friend and my hotel was quite far away, so I wanted to leave some buffer time. Even so, when I got there around 9:30 AM, there were already long lines forming at the entrance. Once the doors opened at 10:00 AM, the queues became so large that security temporarily blocked the main entrance, leaving only the side entrances open.
All in all, it took us about 1 hour and 30 minutes to get through the lines and security checks. On top of that, we were stopped again on the main walkway leading to the pavilions for security reasons, as the King of Spain was moving from the European pavilion to the Spanish one. While I do think it’s important for the Spanish royal family to attend major business events and support national industries – they’re actually doing a great job – the fact is that we lost an extra 20 minutes because we couldn’t cross to the other side. I also think it’s worth mentioning for anyone with anxiety or a fear of crowded spaces.
However, I’ve been told by friends who visit FITUR regularly that it’s not usually that bad – only on the one day the royal family visits, which happened to coincide with the only day I could go myself. So if you plan to spend just one day at FITUR, I’d suggest avoiding that particular day, as the security measures slow everything down quite a lot.
In total, we lost almost two hours before actually reaching the pavilions. If I visit FITUR again in the future, I’ll definitely aim to arrive even earlier – around 9:20 AM – to make the most of the day.
When it comes to food and drinks at FITUR, you’ll find a few coffee stands, which tend to be packed around lunchtime. The most popular option is usually the food trucks located in the same alley you can see in the photo – this is the main area connecting the different pavilions. Most visitors end up having lunch on the benches or standing nearby.
Networking, Events, & Agenda at FITUR
Once you pass all the security checks at FITUR, you’re free to explore the stands and attend any talks or events you’re interested in. On FITUR’s official website, you can find detailed maps and a daily agenda outlining all scheduled events throughout the fair.
In our case, we didn’t end up attending any talks or presentations. Because we lost so much time at the entrance, our priority became visiting the stands we were most interested in, and even then, time was tight. We also decided to leave about an hour early to avoid the heavy crowds that form when everyone exits at the same time – and we weren’t the only ones. In fact, I’d say that several hours before closing, many visitors had already started heading out.
When you purchase your ticket, you also get access to FITUR’s LiveConnect platform, which allows you to request meetings with companies and organizations you’d like to connect with. Since I registered at the last minute and was mainly focused on exploring the Spanish pavilions, the platform wasn’t particularly useful for me. I did receive a few connection requests from companies, but mostly from those that weren’t my top priority. I didn’t schedule any formal meetings or stand visits, as I mainly wanted to experience the fair at my own pace, see as much as possible, and evaluate whether it’s worth visiting – and for whom it might be a profitable experience – especially given my limited time in Madrid.
FITUR for Travel Bloggers
While FITUR is an interesting experience for spotting travel trends and collecting a huge amount of destination material – often better than traditional guidebooks (Japan’s stand, for example, had some amazing free resources) – it’s important for travel bloggers to understand how the fair actually works.
During my one day at FITUR, I didn’t get to see everything. I mainly focused on what I personally enjoy and find interesting to feature on At Lifestyle Crossroads blog. I stopped by most of the Spanish stands, with a few exceptions – Valencia, where I’m currently based (as I feel I’ve already explored it extensively), and destinations known for strong protests against tourism, such as Barcelona, Mallorca, and a few others. I also briefly visited the European pavilion and the Asian pavilion.
What You Need to Know as a Travel Blogger Planning to Visit FITUR: While the fair offers incredible networking opportunities, it also comes with massive crowds. Most of the staff at the tourism board stands I visited were not marketing managers or decision-makers. Instead, they were there to present their destination, hand out information, and answer general questions – not to secure business partnerships, organize press trips, or make collaboration decisions.
So, you need to be prepared for the reality that – unless you already know the person in charge and have scheduled a meeting – most tourism board stands operate in one of three ways when you ask about press trips or collaborations: you’ll either be given the official email of the responsible contact (often already listed on the tourism board’s website), asked for your business card to pass along internally, or informed that they don’t organize press or influencer events at all – which is still the case for many destinations in Spain.
Overall, for content creators and travel bloggers, my main networking advice for visiting FITUR is try to prepare in advance. If there are destinations you’re genuinely interested in, reach out to them online at least a few weeks before the fair, let them know you’ll be attending, and try to schedule a meeting ahead of time. Even with careful planning, the fair is extremely busy, and it’s very common to miss the right contact, find them tied up in back-to-back conversations, or simply find out that some tourism boards and companies don’t work with travel blogs or content creators yet.
For that reason, it’s best to manage expectations: be prepared that some potential partnerships may not happen, and instead focus on the inspiration, insights, and valuable destination information you can still gain from the FITUR experience.
Small Businesses at FITUR deserve more support
In many cases, national or regional tourism boards also showcase local businesses and travel companies within their stands. For example, at the Seville stand, I discovered a charming flamenco venue, while Castilla-La Mancha featured a local wine presentation with tastings. I also noticed small desks representing local companies at many European and International destination stands.
However, in my opinion, this was far less than it could be, as mostly large international travel companies can afford a presence at FITUR. I genuinely felt that tourism boards could do much more to connect small, local businesses with the press and international audiences through the fair.
I understand that it’s challenging for every international tourism board to bring in representatives from around the world. But even Spain’s tourism boards – despite being the host country and having the largest, flashiest spaces – could do significantly more.
Honestly, Spain’s presence at the fair seemed more focused on creating visually impressive displays, hosting speeches by local politicians, and promoting the tourism boards themselves – while distributing large amounts of promotional material – than on truly highlighting or advocating for the local companies and communities they are meant to represent. After all, it’s these small businesses and local experiences that form the essence of each destination. Having created a series of articles showcasing small artisans across Spain, I can personally confirm that the country is full of incredible talent – yet I didn’t see even a fraction of it represented at the fair.
FITUR for Travel Lovers
Even if you don’t work in tourism, you can still visit FITUR over the weekend, when the fair opens to the general public. It can be a really interesting experience, especially if you enjoy learning more about your favorite destinations and discovering new travel trends. That said, it’s important to be prepared for large crowds – and higher hotel prices in Madrid – which are typical during FITUR weekend.
One practical tip: if you’re planning to visit multiple stands and want to take home leaflets for travel planning or inspiration, consider bringing a small wheeled backpack or rolling bag. I didn’t even manage to collect half of the materials I wanted, and by the end of the day, the bag I was carrying had become so heavy that it was difficult to walk around comfortably.
Where to Stay for FITUR
If you’re visiting Madrid mainly for FITUR and plan to attend the fair for more than one day, I highly recommend staying as close to the venue as possible. I booked my accommodation at the last minute and could only find a hotel about 1 hour and 20 minutes away by metro.
The metro line serving FITUR is Line 8 – the same one that connects the city center with Madrid Airport. During the fair, transport is fairly well organized, with extra security, clear signage, and staff directing people to help avoid bottlenecks. That said, it still gets extremely busy and can feel overwhelming, especially during peak hours. Looking back, I really wish I had stayed closer to the fair (if I’d had the choice and hadn’t booked my accommodation at the last minute).
If you want to stay near FITUR, booking early is essential. As soon as the dates for the next edition are announced, I’d recommend reserving your hotel right away. Also, the prices during FITUR usually increase significantly – often doubling across Madrid.
You can find some of the best accommodation options near FITUR on the map below.
Is FITUR Worth Visiting?
For me personally, FITUR was an interesting experience to visit once. While I met many tourism board professionals – especially from Spain – I found the fair to be far more informative and inspiring than productive in terms of generating new work projects or collaborations, at least for now, as my visit to FITUR is still quite recent.
The scale of the event is impressive, and I discovered many interesting destinations and ideas for future trips. Overall, it’s a great fair to experience for anyone who works in travel or simply loves traveling. However, at this stage, I’m still not sure whether I’d return myself, considering how busy it gets and the overall costs involved, including entrance fees, transportation, and accommodation.
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Interesting to hear the pro and cons of visiting the travel fair from a blogger’s perspective. It’s a pity you couldn’t network more with tourism boards, but it still sounded like an interesting event!
Yes – I wish it had been more productive … but it was still interesting and inspiring!
For me, I don’t feel FITUR would be of much benefit, even though it’s open on specific days to the general public. It seems much more suited to industry professionals than to someone visiting Madrid as an individual.
I actually had no idea it was even open to the general public until I visited this year and a lot of people go mainly for destination inspiration and travel trends, so I’m not sure I would have visited myself if I weren’t running a blog.
I, too, tend to avoid conferences or events with large crowds of people and even in your images, I can tell this was a HUGE event. It looks a bit overwhelming. I hadn’t ever heard of the event even though you mentioned it is very well known, and obviously, based on the size of the crowds, it is! So this was great to read about. I’d be interested in learning more about a similar, but smaller event in my area. I’ll start doing some research to see if something like this exists.
It’s very interesting to read your article because I’ve wanted to go to FITUR for the last few years, but I’ve always wondered whether it’s worth the time and money since I’m not based in Madrid.
Thanks for the honest review. I see a lot of travel bloggers talking about conferences and I’ve just not seen the outcomes to justify it yet.