Major tourism exhibition to open in Madrid Wednesday

The International Tourism Exhibition (FITUR) will take place in Madrid from Jan. 22 to 26, local media reported Monday. The exhibition is expected to feature 9,000 companies from 160 different countries and regions as the exhibitors and attract around 200,000 visitors. The event is expected to generate business worth 180 million euros (243 million U.S. dollars) for the city. 2013 was a record year for the Spanish tourist sector, which directly creates over one million jobs in a country where unemployment stands at over 25 percent. Preliminary figures show that Spain is expected to overtake China and become the third biggest tourist destination in the world, having welcomed over 60 million foreigners last year. Spain's main regions will all be represented at FITUR, along with the national airline Iberia and the national rail network RENFE which opened high-speed rail links with Paris and the south of France at the end of 2013.