The Madrid Convention Bureau (MCB) is travelling to Germany, Luxembourg and France to strengthen the capital's image as a business tourism destination in these countries. The MCB delegation will be visiting the cities of Cologne, Luxembourg and Paris, and holding meetings with sector professionals to sell Madrid as a destination and stress its attractions as a centre for meetings, events, incentive trips and conferences. Some 18 other leading companies and institutions from the Madrid tourism sector will be travelling with the MCB, including IFEMA (the Madrid Trade Fair Institution).

The roadshow got underway last Monday in Cologne, a city strategically located between three of the largest German airports. Out of the more than a million passengers from Germany who came to Madrid in 2009, 624,000 flew in from Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Cologne airports. In 2009, 6,320 flights touched down in Madrid from these three airports. The delegation has also visited Luxembourg, the headquarters of some major financial organisations. In this case, the visit is expected to open up new opportunities with corporate clients and make contact with some of the international associations based in the Grand Duchy. There are 50 direct flights every month into Madrid from Luxembourg. The last stop on the trip was Paris, where the French demand for business tourism is highest. The French capital, with an average of over 700 direct flights landing in Barajas every month from its three airports, presents a great opportunity for attracting incentive trips, conferences and conventions.

Second roadshow by MCB

This is the second roadshow organised by the MCB so far this year, following on from the trip to Athens and Istanbul in April and the presentation of Madrid as a business destination in Barcelona. In all cases, an important factor has been Madrid's exceptional communications and infrastructure, including IFEMA, one of Europe's leading trade fair institutions, together with its hotel provision offering over 76,000 rooms, and its endless supply of cultural and leisure activities.