From October 5th to October 7th, 2022, Madrid will become once again the world capital of luxury tourism.
Celebrating the second edition of Forward_MAD, Madrid renews its commitment to the development of a sustainable model of high-impact tourism, in which its historical and cultural heritage takes centre stage.
For two days professionals from the tourism industry such as travel agencies, investment funds, hoteliers, transportation companies, tours and other activities providers, together with the media, will meet in Madrid to discuss trends and strategies to turn the city into a high-impact tourist destination.
Among other developments to take place at the event, new products and services will be announced to complement the offer available to tourists who spend more and book a longer stay.
In addition, the concepts of regenerative tourism and sustainability footprints will be incorporated as cornerstones of this tourism segment along with discussion about new trends, challenges faced and the opportunities they represent.
International speakers who have confirmed their participation for the Forward_MAD conference programme include:
- Jennifer Wilson-Butiggieg, Co-president of Valerie Wilson Travel.
- Joan Roca, Founder and CEO of Essentialist.
- Petra Stuŝek, Chairman of European Cities Marketing.
- Filip Boyen, former CEO and ambassador of The Forbes Travel Guide.
- Trevor Horwell, CEO of Nobu Hotel Group
- Marc Dardenne, CEO of Luxury Brands Europe at Accor.
- Gonzalo Aguilar, Chief Operating Officer Europe at Marriott.
- Mark Britton Jones, lecturer at Glion Institute of Higher Education.
- Mauro de Rosa, Founder and CEO of Fast Private Jet.
- Zain Richardson, Chief Marketing Officer at Aero.
- Caroline Leboucher, CEO of Atout France.
- Miguel Sanz, General Director of Tourspain.
The luxury tourism segment has experienced a significant growth in recent years.
In the case of Madrid, the number of tourists staying in four- and five-star hotels rose to 2.53 million in 2021, more than doubling the figures from 2019, according to data from the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE) collected by Madrid Destino. In parallel, the number of accommodations in these two categories has increased, with 64 percent of the hotels inaugurated from 2019 to 2021 in Madrid being four- and five-stars.
Forward_MAD held its first edition in Madrid last year from October 13th to October 15th. It was attended by more than 200 international travel industry professionals representing more than 150 companies in the luxury tourism segment from 30 countries.
