The model Inés Sastre is sure: “Spain is an appetising and sexy destination”. Abel Matutes, president of the Palladium Hotel Group, one of the most notable national hotel companies, with 48 offshoots around the world, goes further: “Our country has the potential to become the best destination in the world”. And Begoña Villacís, deputy mayor of Madrid, affirms that there is no better place for “a tourism of experiences”.
The three are part of the group of personalities who have supported the presentation of Spain, the destination of excellence, the new public-private platform that aims to position our country among the top of the ranking of the luxury market in the world. The promoter of the initiative is the Spanish Luxury Association, a non-profit organisation whose aim is to promote the image of our country in this sector under the Luxury Spain seal of quality. To this end, it has 130 members linked to high-end brands, whether they are hotels, restaurants, clothing companies, art galleries or food products.
Also present were representatives of the nine institutions that make up the new entity linked to different autonomous communities: Madrid City Council, Turisme de Barcelona, the Tourism Department of Marbella City Council, Turismo de Andalucía, the Costa Brava Tourist Board and the associations Essentially Mallorca (Consell Insular de Mallorca), Basque Luxury (Basque Government), Ibiza Luxury Destination (Fomento Turismo de Ibiza) and Valencia Premium of the Valencian Community.
6,590 million euros moved the luxury market in Spain in 2019, just the year before the pandemic. This figure placed our country in fifth place in Europe behind France, Italy, Switzerland and Germany. But the idea is to move up the rankings. According to data collected by the Spanish Luxury Association, Madrid, Barcelona and Marbella were the key points for this type of consumer.
With these figures on the table, the new body Spain, destination of excellence was born, which aims to “support an industry that seeks to attract a higher quality tourist, a premium tourist, and boost its competitiveness at an international level”, as Cristina Martín, executive president of the association, pointed out during the presentation. In this respect, according to Martín, national public entities will be urged to carry out joint promotion to restore the country’s “credibility”, which has been eroded by the pandemic.
Among the actions to be developed by Spain, a destination of excellence, is the creation of commercial alliances with other countries, for which a network of national and international contacts will be woven, as well as attendance at trade fairs. To this end, a presentation of the organisation is already planned in Mexico in alliance with the Mexican Luxury Association, as well as in China, Japan, the United States, the United Arab Emirates and several European cities such as Munich, Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
All with the aim of positioning itself as the new luxury mecca. “Tourism of excellence, quality and experience is essential and Spain is and will be a very gratifying destination,” says Pablo Garde, Undersecretary of State for Industry, Trade and Tourism. For her part, the aforementioned deputy mayor Villacís encourages “working together so that everyone who visits us takes home an experience”. In this sense, she stressed that “exclusivity, craftsmanship, uniqueness and beauty” are the basis of the new platform and she wants “them to represent Madrid”.
