A VERY SPECIAL
BIRTHDAY
Celebrating TURESPAÑA’s 40th anniversary at FITUR 2024
THE CHALLENGE
How do you celebrate a 40th birthday? But not just a person’s birthday, but the 40th anniversary of a nation’s history, told through a journey.
That was the question posed to us by TURESPAÑA (Spanish Tourism Institute) in anticipation of FITUR 2024. Not just to build a stand, but to create a memory stage, for visions of the future, and for collective pride.
The space needed to position Spain as a global tourism leader: modern, sustainable, and with a strong emotional impact, while also serving as a platform for institutional meetings, immersive experiences, live events, and high-level communications. All of this was to be achieved in just five days at IFEMA Madrid, with an area of over 600 m² and a separate 550 m² workspace for tourism consultants from around the world.
It had to be more than just an exhibition space. It had to become a living tribute to four decades of Spanish tourism and a powerful symbol of the future. A place for ministers and chefs, for data and dreams, for meetings and magic. And yes: somewhere in that mix, there had to be cake.
OUR APPROACH
We envisioned a stand that didn’t just say “40 years”. It had to feel like it.
At its center was a whimsical but touching symbol: a giant birthday cake. with candles that illuminated the celebration. Visitors were invited to Blowing on the candles triggers animations on huge LED walls: umbrellas flying, pine trees swaying, Castellers trembling in the wind.
Every breath became a spectacle, a surge of joy that resonated across the Agora screen. The harder the blow, the wilder the surprise. And so, celebration became interaction. Memory became movement.
And yes: there was real cake too. Four times a day, our pastry chef and entertainer handed out slices of the anniversary cake, inviting attendees to taste a piece of history… and also of Turespaña’s bright future.
But the cake was just one layer of this immersive narrative.
We created a timeline to explore 40 years of travel campaigns. A photo booth to relive past vacations, complete with cassettes and Polaroids as a backdrop. A Leap Motion installation that allowed visitors to explore decades of tourism data with just a wave of their hand. And a time capsule, both physical and digital, where guests could tell us which part of Spain they would preserve for the next 40 years.
We built a dual environment: a main exhibition stand in Hall 9 and a fully equipped workspace in the Retiro Room. The stand featured an immersive audiovisual installation with 130 m² of LED screens, a data visualization experience powered by Leap Motion and a timeline wall that narrates 40 years of iconic tourism campaigns.
All of this is wrapped in a structure built to last: melamine-free HONEXT panels, reusable aluminum systems, LED-only lighting, and a carbon-offset construction process. Every beam and screen reflects our commitment to sustainability. The focus on sustainability wasn’t an afterthought, but a fundamental principle. We even calculated and offset the stand’s carbon footprint through tree-planting initiatives.
Participation was key: visitors left messages in a virtual Time Capsule,Posing for retro “Holidays Through the Years” photos, we blew out digital candles in the interactive cake installation and participated in guided tours of the booth. On public opening days, we transformed the space into a celebration hub with showcooking sessions, cupcake workshops and fun-participatory events, each of them linked to the 40-year history of TURESPAÑA.
"It was incredibly rewarding
to see how the challenge of uniting
five distinct brands
under a single concept and
design came to life
in such harmony."
Nacho Rodríguez Isoba, Project Manager
THE RESULTS
The TURESPAÑA stand became much more than just a presence at the fair. It became a cherished memory.
Thousands of visitors came to participate.
To leave messages, take retro photos, decorate their own cupcakes, or blow out a candle for a future they believed in.
It was a celebration of place and purpose, of national pride and creative joy.
And at the heart of it all, that simple gesture: one person, one breath, one screen filled with movement… reminded us why we do what we do.
At TARS Design, we don’t just build spaces. We create moments.
Moments that connect people meaningfully.
Moments like a birthday wish sent out into the future.
LET'S GET TO KNOW
EACH OTHER
