This month saw Marbella’s attendance at the International Tourism Fair ITB Berlin, where the council strengthened the city’s brand image to the German tourism market. The mayor, Jose Bernal, said that during the fair the city had “boosted its brand image and spread its tourism offering within an important market, that in terms of number of tourists, represents the second foreign country, along with the French”.

Marbella was represented with a 55 square metre stand, positioning the city as an important destination within Spain, along with others present at the fair such as Tourespaña and Turismo Andaluz. The exhibition space, which distributed more than 500 brochures, guides and promotional material from Marbella and San Pedro, was also available to hoteliers and local entrepreneurs to use as a workplace for meetings.

For Marbella, the highlight of the German fair was the opportunity to develop relationships with business level executives of major international tour operators like TUI, 4M Events, Thomas Cook, Golf Service Centre, World Wide Events, Travel Tripper, Messe Berlin Tours India, Extra Golf, Elite Handling Service and Global Business Travels. The mayor noted that these business meetings were ”essential to boost the tourism industry of the city, developing new business opportunities and closing deals."

The City Council has also reached agreements in the field of golf tourism, a major attraction for the German market, as demonstrated with the 'The Year of Golf in Germany' event, organised by Tourism and Planning Costa del Sol in which Marbella was present.

ITB Berlin concluded with the participation of a total of 10,000 exhibiting companies from 187 countries and regions from five continents.

For information about buying property in Marbella and along the Costa del Sol please contact Siesta Homes on +34 952 90 87 05 or visit our website, siestahomes.com.