Israel participated last week in the “FITUR 2026: International Travel Fair” in Madrid, Spain, with representatives of 30 Israeli companies, including 19 incoming tourism organizers, nine major hotel chains, such as Africa-Israel, Dan, Fattal and Canada-Israel, as well as air carriers El Al and Israir, Israel’s Ministry of Tourism said on Sunday.
The fair, which took place on Jan. 21-25, on its 46th anniversary, hosted 156 countries with about 9,500 exhibitors and more than 250,000 visitors, according to the ministry.
The annual event serves as a hub for meetings with decision-makers, airlines and tourism agencies from the Spanish and Latin American markets.
Michael Izhakov, the Israeli Tourism Ministry’s director-general, was quoted as saying, “We are working to increase tourist traffic while focusing on audiences with ties to Israel... we are witnessing great interest, and we are happy to be here to leverage it and send a clear message: Israel is safe and invites the world to come and visit.”
Izhakov inaugurated the Israeli booth with Israel’s Acting Ambassador to Spain Dana Erlich. Large screens of tourism videos were displayed, and visitors were able to receive a personalized caricature against the backdrop of Israel’s landscapes, drawn on-site by an artist, the ministry said.
A special Shabbat reception took place at the booth as well.
Spain is a Catholic country with a population of 49 million people, whose residents make over 21 million international trips annually.
The Israeli Tourism Ministry office in Madrid is in contact with dozens of Spanish wholesalers who sell packages to Israel and is working to fully realize this potential, the ministry noted.
In 2025, 1.3 million tourists arrived in Israel, which was a slight improvement on 2024’s 960,000, in the wake of a year wrought in war. Israel’s highest tourism figure on record stands at 4.55 million in 2019, according to Road Genius, which tracks global tourism statistics.
