SPEL-Turismo Lanzarote and the Delegated Area of Tourism of the Madrid City Council have formalized a collaboration agreement on tourism promotion and exchange of advertising supports, with the aim of "strengthening the international positioning of Lanzarote and consolidating the global projection of Madrid as a leading international tourist destination".
“This agreement, adopted within the framework of Fitur, responds to the process of adaptation and transformation that Lanzarote's tourism promotion model faces in an international context marked by the evolution of travel habits,” explains the president of the Cabildo, Oswaldo Betancort.
According to the Cabildo, travelers from long-haul source markets "increasingly demand a greater degree of emotional connection with destinations, high quality standards in tourism services and the possibility of articulating experiences that integrate different destinations within the same country in the planning of their vacations".
Once the strategic model of Lanzarote for the capture of qualified demand has been consolidated, both in traditionally issuing markets and in those considered long-haul, a new cycle begins for the positioning of the Lanzarote brand. This new impulse is determined by the competitive advantage that Madrid represents as the reference airport hub for southern Europe, as well as by the recognition of the capital as a global tourist destination.
In the field of air connectivity, the airport César Manrique-Lanzarote maintains more than 30 direct weekly connections with Madrid, operated by different airlines, which allows for the articulation of joint promotion strategies aimed at long-haul international markets.
The city of Madrid receives annually more than 11 million visitors, of which nearly 60% are of international origin. Within this segment, long-haul markets, especially the United States and Mexico, are recurrently positioned among the top five international markets for the destination. In terms of connectivity, the Madrid airport has more than 200 direct air connections, consolidating itself as a first-class strategic platform.
“These objective data have been the starting point for the development of technical conversations, shared diagnoses, and joint negotiations that allow progress towards a governance model based on public-public collaboration, supported by coordinated decision-making, information exchange, and the joint execution of strategic agreements,” explained Héctor Fernández, CEO of SPEL-Turismo Lanzarote.
The agreement signed with the Área Delegada de Turismo del Ayuntamiento de Madrid aligns with its mission to consolidate the capital as a leading global destination for leisure and business tourism, supported by tourism's contribution to the Madrid economy, estimated at 17,896 million euros in 2025 from visitors, under a quality-based approach.
In this regard, the delegated Councilor for Tourism, Almudena Maíllo, has pointed out that “Madrid is committed to tourism that brings prosperity and employment and contributes to the well-being of Madrid residents, from decentralization and market diversification”. For Maíllo, “Madrid's international positioning turns the city into the gateway for tourism to Spain”.
From this shared vision, the following lines of joint action are established: mutual assistance in tourism promotion actions for the benefit of both destinations; organization of joint promotional activities in third strategic markets of common interest; exchange of data, knowledge and good practices in tourism intelligence; exchange of relevant information for the generation of tourism impact in both territories, and identification and development of high-value promotional and strategic actions that strengthen the positioning of the Lanzarote and Madrid brands.
The adherence of SPEL-Turismo Lanzarote to this agreement of tourism promotion and exchange of advertising supports is justified by the need to align institutional synergies, share knowledge and reinforce the visibility of the destination in long-haul markets, especially in those where the lack of direct connectivity and lower brand recognition require solid and sustained collaborative strategies over time.
Along these same lines, in the field of connectivity and cooperation with operators and airlines, SPEL-Turismo Lanzarote consolidates and formalizes for 2026 strategic collaborations with reference companies and groups such as Iberia, strengthening the commercialization of the destination in key long-haul source markets.
