FITUR- International Tourism Fair, Madrid

Recently a group of students from the bilingual program had the chance to go to Madrid for three days and attend FITUR, one of the biggest international tourism fairs in all of Europe. The trip was a great experience for the students as they received a very in-depth look at the tourism industry. They spoke with representatives from countries all over the world and were exposed to many new areas of tourism, as well as the direction tourism is heading in the future. In addition to the fair, the group had a guided excursion to the nearby town of Toledo. The following are summaries of the trip written by two of the bilingual students.

By Víctor Pérez 

For me, visiting FITUR was an excelent experience. It was a great opportunity to see how the hospitality and travel industry works, from the kindess of the staff members of IFEMA to the professionalism (and curious language) of the executives looking for and doing business with each other. There were also specific places in FITUR for new segments of tourism like Green Tourism and LGBT Tourism (Lesbian Gay Bi and Transexual) and new destinations like Croatia, Latvia and Lithuania in Europe or Myanmar (formerly Burma) in Asia. These were great examples of how dynamic this industry is. Some stands (and websites) that I found interesting are: 

- Turijobs, www.turijobs.com, an internet company to find job in tourism. 

- Aept, www.aept.org, the Spanish Association of Tourism Professionals with interesting information for tourism studients. 

- Unwto, www.unwto.org, the World Tourism Organization. Dates, general information and keys on the hospitality and travel industry. 

-Fepet, www.fepet.blogspot.com, the Spanish Federation of Tourism Journalists and Writers. 

By Carmen Humanes Velasco

On Friday, we took a day-trip to Toledo. First, we had a guided bus tour of the town and learned about some monuments such as various town doors like “The Sun Door”. The bus then dropped us off in the historic center of town and we were given another guided tour where we saw monuments such as the Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes, El Alcázar, El Puente de Alcántara and La Catedral. In the afternoon, we ate lunch and had some free time to explore the city on our own. My favorite parts of Toledo were the wonderful views, the medieval monuments, the peaceful ambience and the excellent food. Although one thing I have to advise is if you go to Toledo in winter, DON’T FORGET YOUR COAT!