Spain Tourism plans to spend around €100 million (Rs 624 crore) on its promotional and marketing activities to popularise the destination among Indians.

“India at the moment is the most important market for us. Spain has about 80,000 Indians visiting for pure leisure and we have seen a growth of 11 per cent for 2010 from January to November,” said India Director, Spain Tourism, Mr Miguel Nieto-Sandoval.

As part of its India strategy, Tourism Office of Spain has also set up office in India six months ago. “We expect this (India) market (in terms of tourists to Spain) to grow by well over 25 per cent per year for the next decade at the very least,” Mr Nieto-Sandoval told newspersons in Mumbai.

Average stay

At present the average stay of Indians in Spain ranges between 10 and 12 days, said Ms Madhu Saliankar, Market Analyst, Tourism Office of Spain, Mumbai. “The interest of Indians in Spain as a destination did not go down even during the economic downturn seen in the last two to three years. We now hope the average stay of Indians to go up to 20 days with these initiatives,” she said.

In terms of accommodation, Ms Saliankar said there is a wide range of choices starting from government-run guest houses –“Paradores,” “bread-and-breakfast” offerings, to three star to five star hotels. “In fact during off seasons you may get a room for as low as €30!” she said.

To begin with, the tourism board is promoting select destinations for the Indian market, which include Catalunya, Valancia – well known for the Grand Prix race, Andalucia region for its weather, Castilla La Mancha for its UNESCO world Heritage Cities, Toledo and Cuenca and Madrid.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW