Secretary of State for Spanish Tourism Joan Mesquida and Dorna Sports CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta have today announced an agreement for the promotion of Spain as a major tourism destination through the FIM MotoGP World Championship at a press conference at the Ministry for Industry, Tourism and Commerce.

The agreement, which is for three years up to and including the 2012 season, will utilise the international reach of the MotoGP. With circuits in four continents and millions of spectators across the world, the Visit Spain slogan will help to continue raising awareness of Spain as a widely known holiday destination.

In this manner, the Spanish riders competing in the three categories of the World Championship (MotoGP, Moto2 and 125cc) will reinforce the brand of Spain, not just on a sporting level but also in the field of tourism.

Several riders were present at the presentation, including Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha Team) and the MotoGP rookies Héctor Barberá (Páginas Amarillas Aspar Team) and Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki), as well as various riders who will compete in the Moto2 and 125cc classes in 2010.

As part of this agreement, the Ministry of Tourism will be the title sponsor of the Grand Prix of Japan, which will take place at the Motegi circuit on 25 April.

Visit Spain will also have a presence through trackside advertising at various Grands Prix throughout the 2010 season, those being Silverstone in Great Britain on 20 June, Sachsenring in Germany on 18 July and at Indianapolis in the USA on 29 August.

Ezpeleta is extremely proud that Spanish Tourism has chosen MotoGP to promote Spain as a tourism destination across the globe.

“For years, the three Spanish GPs, now four, have already served as an attraction to foreigners to visit Spain, and with this agreement we hope to continue to draw more people, not only to watch the races but to discover everything the country has to offer,” he said.

The Secretary of State for Tourism Joan Mesquida also commented on the agreement with Dorna, which he views as an excellent global showcase for Spain. Mesquida highlighted the coverage of the MotoGP World Championship, which reaches more than 225 million households every year through the media.

“This agreement allows us to offer everyone the chance to Visit Spain,” he said.