Hola, Says Spain To Mice!

Apart from being a world class leisure destination that attracted more than 75 million tourists in 2016, Spain is also a world congress destination, read on to explore more about what the destination has to offer to MICE travellers...

- Kanchan Nath

As per the International Congress and Convention Association, Spain is the fifth country in the world in terms of international meetings organised, 533 in 2016. In addition to excellent air connections, it has a strong circuit of hotels and alternative accommodation (over 16,000) intended for MICE. The entire sector makes more than 350,000 hotel beds available to the market. Of particular interest is the Parador Network. There are 90 unique charming hotels distributed across Spain. The country itself is well connected with a highspeed rail network known as AVE and other train services, frequent buses, excellent road infrastructure and several ports for cruises.

Moreover, Spain has the latest equipment in the MICE segment and a highly professional tourist industry. Spain’s diversity is its biggest USP and a major attraction for MICE from India. Nightlife, beaches, gastronomy, history, art and culture, adventure, landscapes, wineries, deserts, mountains, various forms of entertainment, etc, you name it and Spain has it all!

ACCESSING SPAIN

Spain is very well connected to India, with one direct flight that connects Delhi to Madrid via Air India, while several other international airlines offer excellent connections from various cities across India to different points in Spain. There are frequent connections with Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways (codeshare with Jet Airways), Lufthansa, Swiss Air, KLM/Air France, British Airways and Turkish Airlines.

Other emerging airlines are Saudi Arabian Airlines, Aeroflot, Finnair. There are several daily flight options from India to Madrid and Barcelona, the two main cities of entry to Spain and to other cities such as Valencia, Málaga, Santiago de Compostela and Bilbao. From India, the maximum number of flights to Spain are from Mumbai and Delhi.