Spain Hosts Record 85.2 Million Visitors In 2023

“In 2023, the Consulate General in Mumbai processed 51,881 Schengen visas, which is a 30% increase to 2022 and significantly more as compared to last 4 years figures.” – Fernando Heredia Noguer

TourEspana, in association with Global Destinations and TAFI brought together a networking evening for the travel agents in Mumbai on 15^th April 2024. The evening marked the presence of Fernando Heredia Noguer, Cónsul General; Artur Calero Taboada, Visa Head; Susana Olmos Bros, Visa Head; Antonio Javier Gallego Zambrano, Visa Head from the Consulate.

The event also featured the presence of prominently known industry names such as Elisa Robles Fraga, Director, Spain Tourism Board along with Ajay Prakash, National President; Arun Iyer, Secretary; Jitul Mehta, Joint Secretary; Jay Kantawala – Chairman, Western India Chapter, amongst others representing TAFI. The evening was also graced by the presence of Pranav Kapadia, Founder – Global Destinations with other team members.

During the event, Elisa Robles Fraga highlighted the response received in 2023, mentioning “Last year Spain becomes 2^nd most visited country in the world, with 85.2 Million international visitors with high level of expenditure. We had the highest figures in the year 2018 and 2019, but now we have overpassed the same”. Fraga further discussed some tools that would help travel agents sell Spain in India. The first tool that she mentioned is the Spain’s official tourism website to facilitate agents with all information regarding local and regional tourism boards alongside assisting with experiences, attractions, etc. She also mentioned other tools like Spain Convention Bureau, Spain Specialist Program, B2B Webinars and Roadshows, and FAM trips.

Fernando Heredia Noguer also mentioned, “In 2023, the Consulate General in Mumbai processed 51,881 Schengen visas, which is a 30% increase to 2022 and significantly more as compared to last 4 years figures.” He also reiterated the moto and achievement of the Consulate to process visa in less than 48 hours.

Expressing delight, Ajay Prakash mentioned, “The idea is to get our members to understand and to appreciate that there are certain limitations that the missions also have. As we learn from the CGs saying that there is only this much manpower available to them, there are budgetary considerations, and within that, if they have been able to see 40% visas in the Mumbai Consulate, I think it’s a commendable job. I appreciate that they have cut down the waiting time to less than 48 hours which is a remarkable achievement, and that this something that the other Consulates would take a note of.”