DUBAI 7 February 2022: Emirates has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Turespaña, Spanish Tourism Institute, to help boost trade and tourism to Spain.
His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group, welcomed Her Excellency María Reyes Maroto Illera, Spanish Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, at the Emirates Group Headquarters.
The MoU was signed by Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, divisional senior vice president, International Affairs at Emirates and Miguel Ángel Sanz Castedo, Director General of Turespana. The ceremony was also attended by Juan Ignacio Diaz Bidart, Cabinet Chief to the Minister, Ministry of Industry; Iñigo de Palacio, Spanish Ambassador to the UAE; Andres Salinero, Trade and Economic Counsellor, Embassy of Spain; and Daniel Rosado Bayon, Director, Spain Tourism Office, Tourism Counsellor, Embassy of Spain.
Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Divisional Senior Vice President, International Affairs at Emirates, said: “Emirates launched operations to Spain more than 12 years ago, and the country remains an important market in our global network. We’re very happy to be exploring mutually beneficial initiatives that will drive tourism to Spain and also offer Emirates more opportunities to serve the market. Thank you to our partners for their ongoing support, and we look forward to continuing growing our long-standing partnership.”
Miguel Angel Sanz, Director General Tourspain Madrid, said: “Spain and Emirates are strategic partners of the recovery of travel. Spain, as one of the most visited countries in the world, and Emirates, one of the world’s leading airlines, will work together to improve the connectivity and generate confidence, which are key factors for recovery.”
Daniel Rosado Bayon, Director of Spain Tourism GCC & Iran, added: “We are happy to sign this MoU between Emirates and Tourspain to further collaborate on improving the connectivity with Spain. We are starting to see a recovery of the routes to Spain, and we have agreed to work closer to promote our outstanding destination.”
Under the agreement, Emirates and Turespaña will explore joint activities to drive tourism to Spain, including trade familiarisation trips, workshops and marketing campaigns.
Emirates launched operations to Madrid in 2010, to Barcelona in 2012 and Dubai to Mexico City via Barcelona in 2019. The airline currently offers customers 10 weekly flights to Barcelona, including five weekly flights from Dubai to Mexico City via Barcelona and nine weekly flights to Madrid utilising the iconic Emirates A380 aircraft. Customers can also access popular regional destinations via the airline’s interline agreement with Vueling, Iberia Airlines and Air Europa. Emirates passengers travelling to Madrid and Barcelona can also connect onwards to more than 13 cities through the airline’s partnership with the national train operator, Renfe.
Emirates has safely restarted operations to more than 120 destinations within its global network via Dubai. The airline has led the industry with its innovative products and services, including a comprehensive set of health and safety measures at every step of the journey, contactless technology at Dubai Airport, generous and flexible booking policies, and COVID-19 medical insurance.
