Iberia and the Community of Madrid are launched to conquer the American 'premium' tourist

The Minister of Culture, Tourism and Sports of the CAM, Marta Rivera de la Cruz, presents the promotional campaign, this Monday in New York. COMMUNITY OF MADRID (COMMUNITY OF MADRID)

Iberia's firm commitment to the US market, with new routes to Washington and Dallas, has pushed the Community of Madrid to strengthen its position in the country, from which 12.2% of the international tourists it receives come, attracted by a cultural and leisure offer and with a significantly higher expense than the rest of foreign visitors.

Iberia and the CAM have presented this Monday and Tuesday in New York and Dallas a joint promotion campaign aimed at quality and seasonally adjusted tourism;

a sustainable alternative to the traditional summer sun and beach destination.

The US is also the main source market for the community, even during the travel restrictions derived from the coronavirus.

Both Iberia and the Community have more than recovered cruising speed after the pandemic, and with a marked growth trend, despite an uncertain international context, weighed down by China's zero covid policy.

“In the last quarter, we have recovered 95% of the operation prior to the pandemic;

we reached 85% already in summer.

In the first quarter of 2023 we will be at 105% capacity, with the resumption of all the destinations we had before, including 246 weekly flights to Latin America”, including Caracas, explained Beatriz Guillén, director of Global Sales for Iberia, in New York. .

“This is a new leap in the promotion of Madrid.

There is room for growth, because Madrid is not a seasonal destination for sun and sand.

The tourist who visits us seeks culture, heritage and gastronomy, and in that Madrid is unbeatable”, pointed out the Minister of Culture.

"Our offer combines sustainability, seasonality and a radius of 100 kilometers to distribute tourist flows", beyond the capital, to El Escorial, Alcalá de Henares or Aranjuez or Chinchón, which receive more and more foreign visitors.

Delegations from the CAM and Iberia have met these two days with tour operators in New York and Dallas to publicize the growing advantages that Madrid offers tourists with high purchasing power.

On the part of the airline, new frequencies and more seats and a potential for growth in the operability and connectivity of the airport;

from Madrid, a growing offer of luxury accommodation, from large international chains to boutique hotels (there are eight projects to open next year) or the presence of 24 Michelin-starred restaurants in the region, not to mention the largest network of flamenco tablaos.

Gastronomy is, for example, the main motivation for travelers from Dallas.

“It is the biggest turning point in the history of tourism in the CAM, a true positive perfect storm,” said Luis Fernando Martín Izquierdo, general director of Turismo de Madrid.

The regional officials attribute the good course of the tourism sector to the open-door policy of the restaurant and leisure sector during the pandemic.

"Madrid as an open destination when the rest of the world remained closed, our best promotional campaign was that," Rivera de la Cruz stressed.

With eight destinations in the US and more than one hundred weekly flights from the Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas airport, Iberia increases flights to the country by 21% (up to 2,000) and the seats offered by 15%, up to a total of 589,000;

in total, 15% more than in 2019, the year before the pandemic.

The expansion of flight frequencies to Dallas and Washington and the resumption of those from San Francisco contribute to facilitating the trip of Americans to Madrid, a market dominated until now by those from New York, "because it was easier for them to come" Rivera de la Cruz explained.

The promotion of Madrid in the US follows the trips of the president of the Community, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, in September 2021 and January of this year.

The last one went to New York, where she met with the city's new mayor.

The United States is the first country that sends tourists to the region, the majority coming from New York, with a total of 534,245 entries in the first nine months of this year.

The airline is now betting exponentially on Dallas, where it had already been flying since June, with daily frequencies in 2023. "Dallas airport is on its way to surpass Atlanta's as a

," Guillén explained.

The one in Atlanta registers more than one hundred million passengers a year and is the busiest in the world.

But the potential of Texas, the second market in terms of population and GDP in the US, threatens the leadership of Atlanta and Iberia is positioned in time for the probable

.

Travelers from Texas point to gastronomy as the main motivation for their trip to Madrid.

Those on the east coast and California move for a cultural, leisure or shopping purpose.

The purpose of the company and those responsible for the CAM is to attract seasonally adjusted long-haul, or long-distance tourism, with a longer stay at the destination (an average of seven nights), other leisure options and greater capacity for spending: the premium or high-value American tourist spends an average of 1,200 euros, compared to the average 180 for a European luxury tourist.

In 2021 Madrid equaled for the first time the volume of American visitors received by Catalonia, its favorite destination until then;

Madrid and Catalonia are now tied in market share, both 31%, but with a somewhat higher expense in the case of Madrid.

"Madrid and Catalonia are compatible [options], not rivals, although the offer in Catalonia, with four provinces and sun and beach destinations, cannot be compared with that of Madrid,"

In the first nine months of the year, the CAM attracted 4.3 million international tourists, with an accumulated year-on-year rate of 281.1%, with a recovery rate compared to 2019, the year before the pandemic, higher than the 76%, despite the uncertainty of a convulsive international context (Ukrainian war, energy crisis, inflation) and a very restricted Asian market due to the closure of China.

Between January and September, the 534,245 tourists from the US led spending in the CAM, with a total of 970.5 million euros and an average cost per person of 2,030 euros and 290 euros per day, with an average stay of seven nights. .

The US market thus accounted for 12.2% of international tourism in that period, well above the rest of the main source markets, among which the strength of the Mexican stands out.

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