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A major conference in Madrid promoting tourism through the Internet has provided a showcase for Madrid's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

Antonio Fernandez Arimany, Managing Director of the bid, told the TravelThink conference that the city would be the perfect Olympic host for the visitors from around the world.

He said, "for tourists Madrid provides a feast of culture with 133 museums and with the three most famous, the Prado, Reina Sofia and Thyssen, all within six minutes' walk of each other. Three world word heritage sites are within an hour of Madrid and the city's nightlife is also unparalleled with over 3,000 restaurants to complement many bars, theatres, nightclubs and shops".

According to a press release Madrid itself has over 65,000 hotel rooms - set to rise to 80,000 by 2016 when it hopes to host the Olympics. Hotel rooms are part of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) award criteria, which Madrid meets easily with these facilities said the press release.

Arimany added, "Madrid already has the infrastructure in place to host the Games and 70 per cent of the venues are either already built or underway. The Spanish capital has the experience of hosting more than 100 international events during the past 10 years along with the successful 1992 Barcelona Games. And 93 per cent of Spaniards want the event to come to Madrid, ensuring a warm and hospitable welcome".

Madrid's tourist office has teamed up with the Internet search engine Google to promote what the city has to offer to travel operators and professionals.

(Source: Gamesbids.com)