Spain sees 35 per cent increase in tourist arrivals from India

SUDIPTA DEV – Mumbai

Arturo Ortiz and Joan Mesquida Ferrando

The last seven months have seen an increase of 35 per cent Indian tourist arrivals in Spain. While in 2010 as many as 70,000 Indians visited Spain, the first half of this year saw 53,000 arrivals - an increase that is on no small measures attributed to the success of the blockbuster ‘Zindagi Na Milagi Dobara’, which, according to Joan Mesquida Ferrando, deputy minister of Tourism, Spain, managed to capture the true spirit of Spain and showcased it before the Indian audience. Spain is being promoted in India as a year-round destination, and according to Arturo Ortiz, newly appointed director of Tourism Office of Spain, Mumbai, they are expecting a 40 per cent year-on-year growth in tourist arrivals from India for the next five to seven years.

As many as 40 MICE groups from India have visited Spain so far this year, and contributes 20 per cent of the total tourist arrivals. “India has tremendous growth potential. Spain aspires to be the preferred tourist destination for India,” stated Ferrando. He pointed out that there are some similarities between the two countries as far as festivals are concerned. “Besides beaches and sunshine Spain is home to many UNESCO World Heritage cities. We have many tourist products and good price quality ratio,” he added. An important part of the marketing strategy will be movie partnerships and the Indian film industry will be given priority. According to Ortiz, Spain Film Commission has been set up to work together with all regional and local film commissions.

“Spain offers differentiation in the Indian market. We understand that we are not the first time travel destination for Indian travellers, but attract experienced and evolved traveller who is seeking an experiential holiday. We will be promoting Spain as a standalone destination,” asserted Ortiz. Spain Tourism has launched a Facebook page for India, besides an e-news letter for the trade market and also ‘Spain Addict’ website. “We are extremely active in online and social media,” stated Ortiz.

Tourism contributes almost 10.7 per cent to the GDP of the country, and almost 13 per cent of the population is engaged in tourism. Last year saw 53 million tourist arrivals in Spain, among whom 85 per cent had visited the country before, almost 45 per cent eight-ten times. In terms of income generation from tourism the country ranks second in the world, after the US. There are no direct flights from any Indian city to Spain but there are good connectivity through the Middle East and many European cities.