FITUR PRESENTS ITS 2013 AWARDS

MADRID -The International Tourism Trade Fair, FITUR, held its presentation ceremony today in Madrid for the awards that were granted at the last staging of the show in January of this year. Once again this year, FITUR sought to promote excellence within the field of tourism by recognising the endeavours of companies, professionals and researchers to boost the industry's image, effectively create new products to cater for demand and produce studies that guarantee the development of the tourist market based on know-how and analysis. In this respect, the 33rd staging of FITUR granted its awards under the following headings: the Best Stands at the Show; the Best Active Tourism Products; and the FITUR/Jorge Vila Fradera Forum Award for the Best Piece of Research Relating to the Industry.
The presentation ceremony, which was presided over by the Spanish Secretary of State for Tourism, Isabel María Borrego, was also attended by the following figures: the Head of the Tourism Department at the Madrid Regional Government, Joaquín Castillo; the Chairman of the IFEMA Governing Board and Chairman of the IFEMA Executive Committee, José María Álvarez del Manzano and Luis Eduardo Cortés, respectively; the Managing Director of IFEMA, Fermín Lucas; the Director of FITUR, Ana Larrañaga; and the Chairman of the Organising Committee at the International Tourism Trade Fair, Antonio Vázquez.
The Best Stand Awards at FITUR 2013 within the Countries Category went to the Mexican Tourism Promotion Council, Portugal Tourism, and the Tourist Office of the Dominican Republic, with a Special Mention being awarded to the National Tourist Office of China in Spain.
Within the Category established for Institutions and Spanish Regions, the awards were presented to the Regional Government of Castile-Leon, the Valencian Tourism Agency, and Bilbao-Biscay, with a Special Mention being presented to the Canary Islands.
For their part, the winning stands within the Business Category included the following: Paradores de Turismo, Princess Hotels AIE, and GTA, with a Special Mention being awarded to Grupo Juliá.
Furthermore, in conjunction with the magazine "Aire Libre", FITUR 2013 organised the Best Active Tourism Product Competition, which sought to promote the development and marketing of active tourism products within this tourist segment. The following products emerged as winners at the Eighteenth Active Tourism Product Competition: "The Tour of Asturias in 11 Days", within the Adventure Category; "The Road to Santiago" in the Culture Category; and “Self-Guided Bird-Watching Routes Along the Transhumance Paths of Madrid" within the Nature Category. Within the International Section, the winners were as follows: "Cappadocia - Turkey" (Adventure Category); "The Clay, Cane and Folklore Route of Panama" (Culture Category); and "Educational Journey: On the Way to the Antarctic in Norway" (Nature Category).
FITUR 2013 also hosted the staging of the Fourteenth FITUR/Jorge Vila Fradera Forum Award. This award, which is organised by the show in collaboration with the Spanish Association of Academic Experts in Tourism, AECIT, was presented to the project entitled "The Value of Corporate Responsibility in Brand Equity for Tourism Destinations", produced by Marina Zanfardini, from the National University of Comahue (Tourism Faculty, Tourist Services Department) of Buenos Aires in Argentina, as well as by Luisa Andreu Simó and Enrique Bigné Alcañiz, both from the University of Valencia (Faculty of Economics, Marketing and Market Research Department).
At the end of the Awards Ceremony, a tasting session was organised for the first time based on the cheese known as Queso D.O. Idiazábal. A member of the Idiazábal Cheese Co-Fraternity, from the town of Ordicia in Guipúzcoa, explained the identifying features and characteristics of this sought-after gourmet product. Then one of the winning shepherds in the Ordicia Cheese Competition offered a demonstration of how to produce a handmade cheese.