The installation, featuring a curved design and metallic finish, evokes the lanes along which the single-seater cars will race at MADRING, while its layout mirrors the design of the future circuit. Built in steel, the space conveys the technology and modernity associated with this sporting discipline within the framework of the Year of Sports Tourism, while also referencing the architectural lines of two major sporting icons of the capital: the Santiago Bernabéu and the Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadiums.
In addition to this initiative, “2026 will also be the year of heritage, tradition and, of course, our municipalities. The region boasts extraordinary territorial richness, with three UNESCO World Heritage sites, rural destinations, the eleven Villas of Madrid, and hundreds of towns that combine history, nature and gastronomy,” highlighted the Regional Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport, Mariano de Paco Serrano.
The stand, covering an area of 1,448 square metres shared with Madrid City Council, will feature an LED lighting system that changes colour. The presentation of Madrid’s tourism assets will be carried out through screens suspended from robotic arms, whose movements will be choreographed.
As the main novelty, the exhibition area will extend beyond the stand itself and, thanks to the installation of carpeting and ceiling elements, will create a sense of continuity and cohesion among all the municipalities of the region. In addition, for the first time, the regional government will present the Madrid Region Tourism Awards in three categories: destination, career and tourism experience.
Alongside the prominent presence of sport, the latest developments from the four rural tourism areas included in The Madrid You Don’t Expect (Sierra Norte, Sierra Oeste, Sierra de Guadarrama, and the Las Vegas and La Alcarria area) will be showcased, as well as those of the World Heritage cities: Alcalá de Henares, Aranjuez and San Lorenzo de El Escorial.
The programme will also include a dedicated space for accessible tourism and for promoting the region’s gastronomic offerings. In this edition, the spotlight will be on cocido madrileño, which will be declared an Asset of Cultural Interest, and on craft beers, which are becoming an increasingly important tourist attraction thanks to the tours offered by numerous breweries across the region.
8.7% of regional GDP
The regional government is approaching this event against the backdrop of a historic impact of tourism on Madrid’s economy in 2025, which is expected to reach €28.569 billion, representing 8.7% of the region’s Gross Domestic Product. This is reflected in the year-end forecast included in the latest edition of the IMPACTUR Study, prepared by Exceltur in collaboration with the Regional Ministry for Culture, Tourism and Sport.
According to these estimates, tourism activity will grow by 7% compared with the €26.706 billion recorded at the end of 2024. As a result, the sector’s contribution to the regional economy will reach a historic high of 8.7%, up from 8.6% the previous year. The €28.569 billion generated even exceeds the figures of autonomous communities with a strong tourism profile such as Andalusia, the Balearic Islands or the Canary Islands.
In 2024, the Madrid Region received 16.5 million tourists, 8.8 million of whom were international visitors, and total tourism spending amounted to €19.595 billion, a 17.5% increase compared with 2023. Up to November last year, 8,458,950 foreign visitors arrived in the region, with 723,474 recorded in that month alone.
Metro service reinforcement
In addition, the regional government will increase Metro services by up to 100% on Line 8 to facilitate access to the IFEMA exhibition centre between Wednesday 21 and Sunday 25 January. To this end, Madrid’s underground network has designed a special mobility plan that will increase the number of trains on both weekdays and at the weekend.
Specifically, on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays the service increase will begin at 9:30 a.m., rising by up to 60% and remaining in place until 8:30 p.m., the time slot in which the highest passenger volumes are expected on the line, reaching service increases of up to 100%.
At the weekend, when FITUR opens its doors to the general public, the increase in train services will begin at 9:00 a.m. and will continue until 9:00 p.m. on Saturday and 7:00 p.m. on Sunday. The most intensive reinforcement, of up to 100%, will coincide with the time period when the highest number of visitors is expected, between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon on Saturday, although services will remain significantly above normal levels throughout the rest of the day.