Fitur tourism fair begins in Madrid, with black ribbons and minute's silence

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The Huelva stand has set up a makeshift altar of flowers and candles in memory of the victims of the Adamuz train crash

Pilar Martínez

Enviada especial. Madrid

Wednesday, 21 January 2026, 12:28

The 46th Fitur international tourism fair started with a minute's silence for the victims of the Adamuz train crash, which happened only a few days before the opening ceremony.

In the centre of the Andalusian stand were authorities from the region, representatives from Turespaña and from other regions of the country, as well as the presidents of the sector's employers' associations and of hotel companies. The screens of the stand were black, with "Our hearts go out to the victims and their families: rest in peace" written.

All eyes were focused on the Huelva stand, which was empty but for a makeshift altar of flowers and candles in memory of the victims. No technicians, no business owners, no brochures. The start of one of the biggest tourism fairs in the world was marked by the biggest high-speed railway tragedy in Spain.

At the Andalusian stand, the minute's silence was broken by a long and heartfelt applause followed by a musical performance by Andrea Guzmán, who played Pau Casals' Cant dels Ocells on her cello.

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Fair marked by tragedy

The tragedy in Adamuz has prompted Fitur's organisers and attendees to limit the agenda to a minimum, with only scheduled professional contacts maintained. Solidarity with the victims and their families takes precedence over the ultimate aim of this trade fair.

Despite this, Fitur will maintain its essence as the great showcase of Spanish tourism to the world. More than 9,500 exhibiting companies from 156 countries will be present at the Ifema exhibition centre. A total of 100,000 visitors are expected over the weekend, when the event opens to the general public.

The Costa del Sol's aim at Fitur is to reignite the interest of the domestic market. For the past couple of years, domestic visitors have dropped in numbers in Malaga province, which is why CDS companies have scheduled meetings to improve tourism numbers in Andalucía and Malaga city. The challenge is to extend the region's leadership and attract tourists with a higher purchasing power.

Andalucía attends Fitur with a 4.4-million-euro investment to showcase its new tourism strategy, which, according to regional minister of tourism Arturo Bernal, involves "growing without losing identity, attracting without invading, exciting without wearing out". This year, the Andalusian stand is the largest in its history of Fitur attendances - 7,200 square metres, with the participation of around 20 destinations. Bernal said that Andalucía's roadmap is "based on four inseparable pillars: social sustainability, economic sustainability, environmental sustainability and responsible co-governance".

More than 200 Andalusian companies offering accommodation, experiences, transport, products, tourism services and events are participating this year. "More tables, better conditions, more surface area," Bernal said, adding that the priority at this event is to promote trade and open up new horizons for what is the region's main industry.

The entire Andalusian institutional agenda has been cancelled following the Adamuz accident, which means that president of the Junta Juanma Moreno will not be present at this year's Fitur.

Turismo Costa del Sol strives to recover domestic tourism, after a new decline of 5.1 per cent last year. Domestic tourism is key for the destination, having generated an economic impact of more than 6.36 billion euros in 2025, although this is 1.3 per cent less than in 2024.

According to pesident of Turismo Costa del Sol Francisco Salado, 5,505,000 Spanish residents visited the province of Malaga in 2025. What is more important is that 99 per cent of them have reported a high level of satisfaction with the experience, which makes Salado believe that they can attract Spaniards back to the destination.

Salado attributes the progressive loss of the national market (from 44% of tourists in 2023 to 37.6 per cent in 2025) to "the loss of purchasing power of Spanish families". To reverse this situation, Turismo Costa del Sol has planned a campaign that will take place in the most important streets of the capital of Spain, which aims to reach more than 39,000 placements and 26.4 million impressions between 19 and 25 January.

Malaga city has its own 248-square-metre stand, with the Alcazaba as the main feature. The Costa del Sol capital is interested in tourists with greater purchasing power to show that the city has distanced itself from the decline in the national market that the Costa del Sol is facing. Councillor for tourism Jacobo Florido has stated that by November 2025 Malaga had already exceeded the number of overnight stays registered in 2024.

In the absence of December data provided monthly by the Ine, there have already been 3,456,354 hotel nights spent by 1,696,207 million hotel visitors, which gives an average stay of two days and represents a growth of 13.44 per cent in visitors and 8.08 per cent in overnight stays compared to the same period in 2024," he said.

There will be 36 companies present at the Malaga stand, including tourism agencies, accommodation companies, tourist services, transport and other companies related to the sector. Malaga also aims to join the creation of the network of urban tourist destinations (RDU) together with the city councils of Barcelona, Madrid, San Sebastián, Seville, Valencia and Zaragoza.