Distribución y Revenue Management

📱 Customers value WhatsApp communication and 24/7 phone support from travel agencies the most, according to a Beroni study conducted by Observatorio Nacional del Turismo Emisor (ObservaTUR). Despite increased digitalization, travelers are still comfortable with printed trip information. Travel companionship apps have not become a common demand, and online B2C booking is deemed of low importance. Key for agencies is continued engagement, like sending offers or newsletters, to inspire clients' dream trips.

🚄 En España, más de la mitad de los empleados (55%) prefieren los trenes de alta velocidad para viajes de trabajo, con Madrid-Barcelona, Madrid-Valencia y Madrid-Sevilla siendo las rutas más transitadas. En 2024, el 65% de reservas de viajes de negocios a través de TravelPerk fueron en tren vs. 35% en avión. El 84% eligió tren en la ruta Madrid-Barcelona, y el 98% en Madrid-Valencia. La aceptación en Madrid-Santiago de Compostela aumentó del 4% en 2022 al 42% en 2024. Los precios de los billetes cayeron un 19% en 2023 y un adicional 8% en 2024, costando 92 euros en promedio para un viaje de ida y vuelta.

🏨 Hotels don't generate demand; their role is to capture demand through effective strategies. Destinations, tour operators, airlines, and media are key demand generators, with media influence growing due to social networks and "screen tourism," which moves about 100 million tourists annually. Hotels compete with OTAs and metasearch platforms to attract this demand. OTAs have limited demand-generation capacity, emphasizing the importance of hotels maintaining attractive products, reputation, competitive prices, and visibility to capture demand. Direct sales strategies include understanding customers, aligning products with expectations, managing online reputation, competitive direct channel pricing, promotions, targeted marketing campaigns, constant visibility, careful availability management, and analyzing real hotel demand.

🏖️ Extrahotel accommodations surpassed 13.9 million overnight stays in September, a 3.7% increase from September 2023. Campings saw the highest growth, while tourist apartments represented 50.6% of stays according to the INE survey. Resident overnight stays grew 1.4%, non-resident stays by 5.3%. Tourist apartments recorded 7.03 million stays, up by 3.5%, with resident stays up 5% and non-resident stays up 2.9%. The IPAP rose by 5.2% in September. Canaries was the most popular destination, Madrid had the highest occupancy at 77.5%. Campings reached 4.89 million overnight stays, a 6.4% increase, with the IPAC also up by 6.4%. Catalonia was the top camping destination with more than 2.3 million stays. Rural accommodation stays were stable at 1.22 million despite a 4.1% rise in the IPTR. Baleares was the favored destination with an occupancy of 64.4%. Hostel stays decreased by 4.6% to 843,988, with Galicia as the preferred destination and Madrid reaching the highest occupancy rate of 69.8%.

📌 Beroni's study, conducted by ObservaTUR, shows customers highly value a WhatsApp channel and 24/7/365 phone support in their dealings with travel agencies. Technology is key during the trip inspiration and preparation phases, aiding in itinerary personalization. However, travelers prefer printed travel information and display low concern for digital documentation. In-travel companion apps have limited interest, and web-based B2C booking is not commonly demanded.

🇮🇳 Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited India to meet President Narendra Modi, highlighting the relationship between Spain and India. The meeting exposed a 'branding' issue for Spain, known more for 'overtourism' and football, specifically La Liga's Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, rather than other cultural attractions in the world's most populous country and third-largest economy.

🏨 In Spanish hotels, RevPAR increased by 13% from January to September compared to the same period in 2023. Occupancy rates reached 75.4%, ADR rose to €162.8, and RevPAR to €122.7. Madrid's occupancy improved by 4.7% to 75%, while Barcelona's occupancy was 79.8%, with average room costs at €193.6 and €166.8, respectively. Madrid's RevPAR surged by 21.8% to €125.1, and Barcelona's grew by 9.5% to €154.5. Málaga led with an occupancy rate of 85.3%, followed by Valencia at 83.5%, and Alicante at 82%.

✈ Vueling and Ryanair remain market leaders at Barcelona Airport, despite Easyjet and Wizz Air increasing their shares. In the first nine months of 2024, Vueling's market share at El Prat fell slightly to 39.6% from 41.2% in 2023. Vueling saw a 7% passenger growth and a 2% capacity increase but faced challenges due to a fleet expansion freeze. Ryanair's market share dipped marginally to 16.8%, with a 9% rise in passengers. Easyjet holds a 4.8% share with a 16% passenger increase, while Wizz Air's share grew to 4.5% after a 36.6% surge in user numbers.

🛃 More than 50% of holiday rental ads in Mallorca could be fraudulent, as revealed by a Consell de Mallorca study in September. Out of 43,426 listed properties on platforms like Airbnb and Booking, at least 23,030 are suspected of irregularities or lack required licenses, with only 10,710 properly licensed. A new tech tool enables monthly monitoring of rental listings to identify non-compliant offers. Tourism councillor Marcial Rodríguez acknowledges the issue of unregulated supply damaging the sector and plans collaboration with major platforms to remove illegal listings.

🚩 Tourists in Tenerife's Playa de las Américas faced protests against excessive tourism, with demonstrators telling them to "Go home" last week. Some hotels advised guests to avoid the beach during the weekend to prevent similar incidents. British media covered the story, highlighting the decline in protests from 57,000 to just 6,500 participants. The confrontations raise concerns about the impact on Tenerife's image and tourism industry.