(TibetanReview.net, Nov03, 2018) – Participants from China at a major trade expo in Spain’s capital Madrid withdrew in protest on Nov 1 after they failed to pressure the organizers to disinvite President Lobsang Sangay of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) and member of the exile Tibetan parliament Ven. Thupten Wangchen from the event’s opening ceremony. Expotural 2018, the Mountain and Sustainable Trade Fair, opened at the IFEMA (International Trade Fair of Madrid), with Sangay speaking on Tibet’s environment and its global significance.
CTA said on its Tibet.net website Nov 2 that Chinese exhibitors tried to pressure Expotural and the IFEMA to withdraw the invitation to the exile Tibetan leaders; and they withdrew themselves when the organizers refused.
The financial effect of IFEMA’s activity on the city and region of Madrid as a driver of business tourism was stated to total two billion euros each year, roughly 1% of the region’s GDP, generating some 40,000 direct and indirect jobs.
The tourism trade fair exalts the mountains and natural spaces of the planet and prides itself as the last legacy of Edmund Hillary. Its mission is to raise awareness about the conservation of our planet.
