Dear Friend, 

Amidst the crisis of the past few years, international tourism has been a key driver in many European destinations, including Spain, to boost the economic recovery, while at the same time enhancing the image of these destinations.

Despite being such a substantial sector for many countries, the political and social value of tourism and its multiplier effects on the economy still needs to be placed higher in terms of policies and priorities for action by the various administrations. Such policies and actions include, among others, inter-institutional (public/public) and public-private coordination, the allocation of resources and incentives that ensure success in dealing with growing challenges brought in by competitive repositioning, as well as the need to evolve tourism policies and business models as dictated by the accelerated changes occurring at the global stage.

No country can ignore that tourism has a decisive effect on supporting its image in two major ways. Firstly, in financial terms, as tourism strengthens a country's solvency, as it did in Spain in 2013 with a positive tourism GDP which mitigated the economic downturn, safeguarded jobs, generated a substantial volume of foreign exchange and reduced the country's risk premium. Secondly, as the best showcase for millions of foreigners to see first-hand the socio-economic reality of any country, and thus becoming the most effective ambassadors to spread the word about a country's real progress and outlook.

It is therefore our hope that the debates of the 7^th Tourism Leadership Forum will raise awareness of the indisputable reality of tourism´s contribution to the external reputation of a country and the development and consolidation of its welfare. Our aim is to place tourism as a top political, entrepreneurial and social priority in an environment of ever-increasing competitiveness and growing international demand. Such an environment calls for more innovative and better coordinated institutional, entrepreneurial and public-private policies given their increasing interdependence as well as a higher understanding of the inexorable changes in the habits of tourists enabled by the internet and new information technologies that constantly generate new players, business models and social paradigms.

The 7^th edition of the Forum will cover all of these issues thanks to the participation of tourism leaders from the public and private sectors' worldwide. With the expected attendance of senior officials from the European Union and the Spanish State, we are confident that the 7^th Forum will further consolidate its status as the first major event on the international tourism calendar and as an opportunity to get to know the main trends for 2014.

 We therefore encourage you to register free of charge by clicking on the registration tab.