|
Last year, 373,506 U.S.tourists visited Madrid,
the largest group from any nation. Americans accounted
for 15 percent of the city's foreign visitors. The
number was fractionally higher than the previous
year (0.28 percent), and Madrid is actively campaigning
to maintain a steady increase: half a million U.S.
tourists by 2010 is not considered unrealistic by
the city tourist authority.
The current focus is on the incentive trip market.
Corporate tours for deserving employees are already
an important factor in U.S. tourist traffic to Madrid.
The city is a popular destination for incentive
trips because it offers a good combination of culture
and entertainment, fine, imaginative cuisine and
excellent wines, and good shopping, plus a wide
choice of luxury hotels. An added attraction is
what the tourist trade calls Madrid's "good
surroundings" -- places of interest within
excursion distance, such as the historic city of
Toledo, the Escorial, and the royal palace at Aranjuez.
What immediately strikes the visitor about Madrid
is that its lively street life goes on until the
early morning, which is why Madrid is sometimes
jokingly called the "city of the 4 a.m.traffic
jam." Madrilenos are said to be able to survive
on less sleep than people anywhere else. The city
caters for this collective insomnia: there are 30
theaters, and 50 concert halls, plus an enormous
number of cinemas -- and unquestionably the best
night life in Europe.
On the cultural side the "incentive"
is about to get bigger as a result of an important
expansion program by the three major museums, the
Museo del Prado, the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, and
the Centro Nacional de Arte Contemporaneo Reina
Sofia.
For music lovers there is the Royal Opera House,
which has a promotional package called "Madrid
Opera In" -- a seat or seats at one of the
opera performances (currently Wagner's Siegfried,Rossini's
Semiramide, Donizetti's Don Pasquale, and Janacek's
Osud), a copy of the libretto, an overnight stay
in a good hotel with buffet breakfast, and a guided
tour of Madrid. The city is also promoting a surge
of Broadway revivals.
Golf tourism is another growing market. Madrid
is a city surrounded by golf courses, 23 of them,
with more and more Madrilenos swinging their clubs
every week-end. Specialized travel agents offer
golf tour packages for business groups, typically
two nights at a four-star hotel in the city or near
the golf course, breakfast included, three green
fees for an 18-hole course, half day use of the
club conference facilities with two coffee breaks,
three catered light lunches, transport to and from
the airport, and two guided tours of the city, with
dinner. Average price: $1,000 per person at the
current conversion rate from euros.
The city is also pushing its excellent shopping.
The Barrio de Salamanca, which includes the famous
Calle Serrano, has the most concentrated collection
of top range and luxury stores this side of upper
Madison Avenue, and perhaps even outdoes New York.
But in the Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol area are
small, traditional shops, still clinging to their
late 19th century decor -- pharmacies (drug stores),
tapas bars,family grocery shops,and shops selling
religious items like Rosary beads and religoius
paintings. A store near the Puerta del Sol still
sells traditional Spanish capes, as it has done
for generations.
The advertisements may proclaim Madrid is for lovers,
or golfers, but it is primarily for walkers. In
Madrid the architectural clock jumps back and forth
depending on the "barrio" or neighborhood.
Around the Plaza Mayor the old, narrow stone houses
lean on one another like drunken soldiers. Once
neglected in favor of suburbia, they have been restored
by a younger generation of Madrilenos returning
to city life. Along the wide boulevards, like the
Castellana, the corporate architecture of banks
and major companies is on display, with palatial
19th century structures rubbing buttresses with
modern steel and glass structures.
And yes, there are still bullfights in Madrid.
Every Sunday in the season, which starts May on
the feast of San Isidro.
|
