The Councillor’s Office for Tourism at Sitges Town Council will be taking part in the 45th edition of the Fitur International Tourism Fair, to be held in Madrid from 22 to 26 January.  The event marks the start of the action plan by the Councillor’s Office for this year and will also highlight the projects to be rolled out in 2025, shaped by the Destination Tourism Sustainability Plan (DTSP). Through the Catalan Tourist Board stand, and under the umbrella of Barcelona Provincial Council, Sitges will be presenting its range of tourism options at the fair, the leading event in the sector on a global scale.

Fitur is set to bring together over 150,000 professionals and nearly 100,000 members of the public, with 156 countries represented and 9,500 companies exhibiting at the fair. Fitur is the biggest business platform in the tourist sector and a meeting point for professionals in an industry that reaffirms its commitment to sustainability and innovation. The Mayor of Sitges, Aurora Carbonell, the Councillor for Tourism, Xavier Ripoll, and other representatives from the Councillor’s Office will be holding meetings with different companies and institutions with the aim of establishing relationships and rolling out the 2025 action plan and strategic projects for the destination in the medium to long term. 

The Councillor for Tourism emphasises the importance of being at Fitur. “Sitges being present at Fitur is essential for the new economic year and for consolidating the destination is terms of tourism. The meetings with businesses and institutions will help us roll out strategic projects for the Destination Tourism Sustainability Plan. It’s also a great opportunity to strengthen national and international promotion in key markets, ensuring the social and economic development of the town”, affirmed Ripoll. The Councillor also noted that “our participation in Fitur must enable us to find alliances and opportunities for reaffirming our leadership and commitment to a sustainable and innovative model”.

Among the meetings planned there will be a special emphasis on those focusing on the promotion of tourism, with interviews also to be held with the directors of Spanish Tourist Offices abroad, mainly corresponding to markets of interest for Sitges defined in its tourism marketing plan, such as the UK, Germany, Sweden and Ireland. The goal is to find new channels of collaboration to help promote the town in the leading tourist markets for the destination.

Meetings are also planned with tourist consulting companies to move forward in the roll-out of different projects linked to the Tourist Sustainability Plan. The goal is to discover what different companies specialising in tourist intelligence systems are doing, and to see the latest developments and trends in the market. Interviews have also been planned with the DTI Network and Biosphere.

The agenda also includes a meeting with the Deputy for Tourism with Barcelona Provincial Council, Ana Herrera, and the Office for Tourism Marketing with the same body, key collaborators in the tourist promotion of Sitges.

Notable projects and actions for 2025

The strategic projects that must be launched this year as part of the DTSP are being funded with 5 million euros in EU Next Generation Funds, with their goal being to improve tourist destinations working for social, economic and environmental development. The projects to be rolled out include the decarbonisation plan for local tourist companies, the technical secretaries to foster work on tourism in enogastronomy, culture and the nautical sphere, and the Tourist Intelligence System.

Work will also be carried out to renew the Biosphere Gold certification, which represents the destination’s backing for a sustainable model, and adhesion to the Network of Smart Tourism Destinations (STI). In addition to these actions come the 20th anniversary of the Sitges Convention Bureau and the activities to promote Catalonia as the Region of Gastronomy 2025.