In Spain, Mastercard launched Tourism hub

Monday, January 24, 2022

Today, Mastercard declared setting up of a new Tourism Innovation Hub in Spain. This would be done with the help of the Spanish Government. The Hub would be located in Madrid and will be opened in the second quarter of 2022. It will develop solutions to support a sustainable and inclusive recovery for the global tourism with the help of innovation, research and partnership across the ecosystem. Today, the initiative was approved at the FITUR International Tourism Fair, between Reyes Maroto, Spain’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, and Mark Barnett, President of Mastercard Europe.

The travel and tourism sector in 2019 represented 10.4% of global GDP but in 2020, it almost halved to 5.5% – similarly international visitors spent US$1,691.5 billion in 2019 and dropped to US$517.6 billion in 2020-2021. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) estimates that in 2021, international tourist arrivals remained 70 to 75 percent below 2019 levels, as per its recent forecast. The impact also goes beyond GDP figures, with the industry playing a vital role in generating jobs and creating opportunities for micro and small businesses around the world.

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