'El Bulli' to be new face of Spanish Tourism

World renowned chef Ferran Adrià has been invited to become the new face of Spanish tourism in an advertising campaign throughout Asia, America and Europe.

The announcement was made in London earlier today by Spain's tourism minister, Joan Mesquida, at a presentation of the first European Congress on Tourism and Gastronomy at the Spanish embassy

Mesquida said that the intention was to "bring together Spain's pre-eminence in tourism and in cuisine" - bearing in mind that food is one of the main reasons people come back to Spain time and again.

Through Adrià, owner of El Bulli, voted best restaurant in the world five times, Spanish cuisine has achieved international recognition and he is just the "tip of the iceberg for the thousands of professionals who create wonderful food in Spain".

The Catalan chef will have an active role in the new campaign, the details of which will be released in Madrid later this week, travelling on to Singapore, New York, Sao Paulo, Germany and the UK to promote Spain.

Mesquida explained that he chose London to present the first European Congress on Tourism and Gastronomy (which will be held in Madrid on May 24th & 25th) because "the UK is one of our main tourist markets", with more than 13 million Britons visiting Spain last year.

"Spanish cuisine is enjoying one of its best moments and it has not been an overnight success, but rather the culmination of hard work by the thousands Spaniards working in this sector", said Mesquida, who explained that the congress would deal with topics like training, the role of chefs in tourist promotion, tourist routes linked with the country's food and drink.

For his part, Adrià felt that the congress would mark "the beginning of a new and important era" for Spanish cuisine on the world stage and added that he would play the role of "agitator, as I've been doing for the past 25 years".