Spain to enlist Adria and Torres for tourism advertising campaign
08.03.2010
Spain is to launch a far-reaching and expensive advertising campaign endorsed by gastronomy gurus such as Ferran Adria, and a large number of sportsmen and women. The initiative comes after a difficult start to 2010, during which the rural and non-hotel sections of the tourism sector were particularly hard-hit.
In January, there were 4.5 million overnight stays in flats, campsites and agro tourism locations, a 6.9% drop on the equivalent period in 2009. The figures, which were released today by Spain's national institute of statistics (INE), reflects the negative results of the entire sector, which ended 2009 with 52 million visits, down 8.7% on the previous year and with a 4 billion euro drop in spending by visitors.
The outlook for the current year is just as bleak, with Spain set to finish 2010 as the only major OECD-member economy in recession, according to the predictions of the main international organisations, with both of the country's economic driving forces, tourism and construction, still stalling. In a move aimed at ending the crisis, the government has in the last few days introduced a new international promotional campaign. As in the last 25 years of Spain's tourism promotion, Miros traditional sun logo will feature, as will the slogan "I need Spain". 7.5 million euros will be invested in the early stages of the campaign, with an extra 42 million spent in the next year on broadcast advertising, say sources close to the Ministry of Tourism.
Some of Spain's most famous faces will endorse the new drive, including the founding father of molecular cooking, Ferran Adria, as well as players from the national football and basketball teams and professional motorbike champions. Early figures are far from encouraging for the non-hotel section, which has keenly felt the drop in overnight stays by foreigners, a 9.2% fall on January 2009, while stays by Spaniards increased by 3.3%. The average stay, according to the INE, registered a yearly fall of 7.5% to a stay of 7.6 nights per traveller. In terms of accommodation, stays in residence fell by 1.6% in January, or five tenths more than in the previous month. Elsewhere, the price index for campsite tourism recorded an annual rise of 1.8%, while the rural tourism index was down 1%.
The new "I need Spain" campaign reflects the government's attempt to consolidate "Spain's leadership" in the holiday tourism sector and to diversify demand. With the new advertisements, due to be broadcast in over 40 countries and reaching an audience of 400 million, the executive wants to promote Spanish tourism in markets in which the country's image has been less strong, such as China, India, the Middle East and the United States. Joining cooking guru Ferran Adrià as "ambassadors" of Spain's image will be the kitesurf champion Gisela Pulido, a host of Moto GP riders and some of Liverpool's Spanish footballers such as Fernando Torres.
Source: ANSAmed
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