Spain''s most important tourist fair, Fitur, opened in Madrid on Wednesday and this, as in every year, the Basque Government will aim, from a six-part stand measuring nearly 1000 square metres, to boost local tourism.

Euskadi is making its presence felt at this year''s tourist fair, which goes on until Sunday 24th January, though this time by revealing its latest tourist brand, an original design conceived as part of lehendakari Patxi Lopez''s new tourist marketing strategy, presented in Madrid as part of a special sneak preview timed to coincide with the opening of Fitur 2010.

For a third consecutive year, the promotional stand is run by Basque tourist agency Basquetour. A unique space of precisely 966m squared which, aside from the new tourist brand, includes displays for the different sub-brands pertaining to six key areas within Euskadi: Bilbao, Donostia-San Sebastián, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Berdea (Basque for ''green'' in reference to the countryside), Basque Coast and Rioja Alavesa.

This year''s particularly visual and unique stand, designed by Bilbao-based company Supperestudio, is intended as an open and accessible area where the visitor can easily move around the various counters dedicated to each sub-brand, allowing him or her to make a virtual tour of the Basque Country, suitcase included! Because the most important and original aspect of this year''s stand are the suitcases with which the various parts of the area are constructed: counters, resting areas, walls; all large open suitcases projecting videos about the culture, geography, art, gastronomy, nature and even the people of the Basque Country.

The suitcases are all different colours depending on the sub-brand they represent: red for Bilbao, light blue for Donostia-San Sebastian, yellow for Vitoria-Gasteiz, crimson for Rioja Alavesa, green for Berdea and dark blue for the Basque coast, while the general counter for Euskadi incorporates all six colours.

The stand also includes one other attractive and novel aspect: messages written about the different attributes of each sub-brand, originally displayed on panels made of open suitcases with back lighting, situated behind each counter.

Aside from the Basque Government, also present in the stand are representatives of the various bodies from within the territory who are promoting the various offers of the respective tourist areas.