Cooperation in tourism between Spain and India was institutionalized in 2009 with the signing of the MoU on tourism, the same year in which the office of Turespaña in Mumbai was opened. However, the annual celebration in Madrid of the International Tourism Fair (FITUR, by its Spanish acronym) has been the engine of this bilateral exchange. In recent years, the number of Indian travelers to Spain and the number of Spanish travelers to India have grown progressively. However, collaboration between tourism industries, two non-competitive business networks between which there are numerous synergies, still offers great opportunities for collaboration. Bilateral cooperation in the field of agriculture and food was also established in 2009 with the agreement in agriculture and related sectors. The success of the Spanish technological participation in the value chain of food processing and packaging in India to address the new challenges of COVID-19, the contribution of Spanish companies to the growth of the sector in India and the positioning of the Spanish product in the renewed interest for a healthy diet, such as olive oil, confirms the great sectoral synergy.
In this document we analyze the dimension of tourism exchanges between Spain and India; the role of visas, agents and promotion in bilateral tourism; the bilateral alliance on innovation and tourism connectivity; the relevance of food processing and packaging industry in bilateral exchanges and innovation; Spanish and Indian foods as an asset for bilateral mutual knowledge; and the gastronomic exchanges between Spain and India.