The Spanish have more experience in tourism than many countries. They have proven to develop a very successful and sustainable tourism industry. Every year more than 60 million tourists from around the world visit Spain, generating billions of dollars in foreign exchange income for the country.
Reading a note in Hechos de Hoy, information that I consider important perhaps to be imitated by the Dominican tourism industry to attract more visitors to this land of sun and beach.
I am referring to the positioning that the Mayor’s Office (City Hall) and the Community of Madrid are carrying out to attract more tourists from the United Kingdom, a nation that occupies the fourth place among the countries that most visit the Spanish destination, behind the United States, Italy and France.
With this objective in mind, they are preparing to launch a major promotional campaign before the end of the year to attract more tourists from the United Kingdom. The incentive consists of returning to tourists the VAT tax, known as Value Added Tax (VAT) and positioning Madrid as an international tax-free shopping center, offering them permanent discounts depending on the amount.
Tourists from the United Kingdom enjoy the characteristics of having a great purchasing power and consumption within the parameters of the average expenditure made. The strategy of the Community of Madrid and the City Council of the capital would focus on the positioning of exploiting the gastronomic and cultural offer, as well as its new hotels, among other fascinating attractions of the Spanish metropolis.
The strategy would also consist of promoting among the British the handicraft products, alternative markets, department stores and department stores of high-end brands, national and international fashion, which make Madrid an “exclusive shopping destination”.
The advertising package includes an aggressive insertion of information through digital media. According to figures from the Institute of Statistics (INE) the foreign visitor from the United Kingdom makes a daily transaction in Madrid of 130 euros (1 euro equals USD$1.15) with credit cards, debit cards or cash. In 2019 British tourists spent 639 million euros on leisure and cultural purchases. In the same year, 353,896 British citizens arrived in Madrid.
