Distribución y Revenue Management

🏖️ In November 2024, Spanish extrahotel accommodations recorded 6.8 million overnight stays, a 4.6% increase from the previous year, with an average stay of 4.3 nights per traveler. Resident travelers' stays grew by 8.2%, non-residents by 2.95%, and from January to November, nights increased by 3.3% year-on-year. Tourist apartments had 804,492 travelers with 4.18 million overnight stays, up by 3.4%. Canarias led with more than 2.2 million stays, Tenerife being the favorite destination. Camping attracted 257,872 travelers, totaling 1.48 million overnight stays, a 3.7% rise, with Comunidad Valenciana being the top region. Rural tourism accommodations saw an 18.8% increase to 712,612 stays, with Castilla y León as the preferred destination. Hostels hosted 209,002 travelers for 441,555 overnight stays, a decline of 1.4%, with Comunidad de Madrid being the most popular. Price indices for these accommodations also rose, with a 7.5% increase for apartments, 4.1% for camping, and 3.8% for rural tourism.

📈 DerbySoft, as the "Travel Commerce Accelerator," joined ITH on January 2, 2025, enhancing the technological partners' area within the hotel and tourism sector. Based in Dallas, USA, with 20+ years of service and operations in 197 countries, DerbySoft specializes in integrating travel ecosystem components to create a unified platform featuring top-tier connectivity services, AI-driven marketing solutions, and optimized content infrastructure. This collaboration leverages DerbySoft's extensive know-how and commitment to the Spanish market, aiming to improve distribution, direct sales, and third-party platform performance while offering a personalized customer experience.

🌍 In 2023, London led as Europe's top urban destination by hotel nights with over 78 million, followed by Paris with 52 million, and Istanbul nearly 30 million. Barcelona (7th) reached 21.7 million, Madrid (8th) 19.97 million. Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Copenhagen exceeded their 2019 figures, while London, Madrid, and others didn't recover to pre-pandemic levels. Amsterdam saw a 30% increase, while London experienced an 8.2% decrease compared to 2019.

🌍 Tourism in Spain during 2024 has focused on cultural experiences and guided tours, with Roma, Budapest, Paris, London, and Oporto as top international destinations. The most popular activities include visits to the Vatican Museums, Colosseum, and Roman Forum in Rome; evening boat tours in Budapest; Seine cruises in Paris; and Oporto's six bridges cruise. Madrid, Sevilla, and Granada lead as favorite national destinations, with Madrid's cultural offerings, Sevilla's Giralda and Cathedral tours, and Granada's Alhambra highly sought after. Córdoba with its Mezquita-Cathedral and Barcelona's Sagrada Familia and Gothic Quarter also ranked highly, reflecting a balance of tradition and modernity.

✈ Ryanair to add 29 new B737Max planes to its fleet in 2025, following clarification with Boeing on production issues. These planes, despite their tarnished reputation, offer nearly 20% fuel savings over Airbus models, per Air Canada. Allocation of the aircraft will favor aviation-friendly countries like Spain, Sweden, Poland, and Italy, contrasting with the UK, France, and Germany. The 5% fleet increase could create up to 2,000 jobs, supporting around 200 extra daily flights.

🏨 In 2025, a significant recovery is expected with purchases in tourism and light shed on Air Europa's scandal involving Koldo, Aldama, and Ábalos. Air Europa's rescue investigation may reveal dealings with the Spanish government, including Begoña Gómez, Pedro Sánchez's wife. New York's Certares is considering acquisitions in Spain's fragmented travel industry, targeting groups like Ávoris and Viajes El Corte Inglés. Volotea faces a critical 2025 with a negative working capital of -€240.18 million, worsening from -€135.18 million in 2022. Portugal plans to fully privatize TAP in 2025, with interest from Iberia and Lufthansa's parent companies. Hotelbeds aims for an IPO before summer 2025 after debt reduction. Ávoris is nearing purchases of Dit Gestión and negotiating with CDV. Airbnb, under legal pressure, may stop listing illegal offerings. Travel Live (formerly Nautalia) enters 2025 debt-free, returning €85 million in aid. W2M seeks growth by expanding in the Caribbean and Latin America. Meliá and Riu anticipate new openings, with Hyatt eyeing Playa Resorts. Multiple hotel portfolios, valued at €250-300 million, await buyers, including Apollo and CBRE IM's assets.

🌆 Canarias overtakes Madrid as the priciest destination for lodging in the final days of the year. From December 27 to January 1, hotel prices in Canarias soared by 30% to €343, while Madrid saw a 3% increase to €287, followed by Barcelona at €266. Baleares' hotel costs jumped 9% to €213. Valencia's rates dropped from €232 to €200 amidst recovery from DANA disaster. The national average hotel price is €257, up 5% from last year and 29% from two years prior. Senior Manager at Simon-Kucher predicts a record year-end rate with slower demand growth.

🏖 Over 177,250 Imserso travel program slots, or 20% of the total 886,269 available for the 2024-2025 season, went unsold as of September 28. Ávoris Corporación Empresarial reported 80% of slots were purchased in the first week. Initial trips started on October 6, after delays in 2023. Sales began on September 23 with 203 hotels, 5% more than the last campaign. The ETIAS authorization for non-EU tourists, effective mid-2025, costs 7 euros and is valid for three years. FTI Group filed for insolvency on June 3, 2024, owing nearly 1 billion euros to the German government.

🏖️ Small rural tourism businesses are leveraging generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini for digital marketing strategies without major initial investments. Montserrat Peñarroya, a digital marketing expert, emphasizes GenAI's potential to create personalized content, anticipate demand, and enhance competitiveness. GenAI benefits include content creation, demand forecasting, customer profiling, optimized sales scripts, and multilingual support. This technology fosters sustainable tourism, creates jobs, and combats depopulation, impacting rural communities positively.

📈 TripAdvisor, Renfe, and Barceló Hotels lead in SEO performance within their categories, attracting significant organic web traffic. Spain's tourism sector reached over 800 million SEO visits in 2024, marking a 21% increase from the previous year. TripAdvisor dominates online travel agencies with a 29% SEO market share, Renfe leads transportation with 23%, and Barceló Hotels in hospitality with 52%. The southeast regions like Valencia, Alicante, and Almería are gaining interest, attributed to infrastructure and sustainable tourism investments. Additionally, Escapada Rural commands the rural tourism market with a 73% share, while tourism-related activity companies saw a 150% increase in SEO visits this year.