Eventos

💰 Nearly 400 tourism professionals convened at the III Convention of Traveltool e-services from October 24-27 at the Grand Luxor Hotel & Village in Benidorm, discussing the need for talent recruitment and generational turnover in small and medium-sized travel agencies. Key topics included the Combined Travel Directive and data registration regulations per Royal Decree 933/2021. Strategies for succession involved involving descendants in management and adapting agencies to new customer generations. The event featured success stories and innovation strategies for travel agencies.

🏕️ Intur and AR-PA join forces in Valladolid for a special edition of the International Interior Tourism Fair from November 14-17, 2024. Intur Negocios, for professionals only, will be held on November 14 with 56 buyers from countries including Canada, China, Hong Kong, Poland, Portugal, Belgium, Italy, and the United States. Intur Viajeros opens to the public from November 15-17, showcasing over 1,200 destinations with free entry via online registration until November 13 or €5 at the ticket office.

🚨 Numerous tourism professionals showed solidarity at the Community of Valencia's stand at the World Travel Market (WTM) in London on the opening day, supporting flood victims. Spanish authorities, including the State Secretary of Tourism, Rosario Sánchez, held a minute of silence for Dana victims in towns like Paiporta or Chiva. High-ranking officials, such as Balearic President Marga Prohens, skipped the event to coordinate aid efforts from Palma.

🏢 The World Travel Market (WTM) in London opened on November 5, with the Spanish tourism sector in attendance, amidst mixed economic indicators from the UK. The event boasts approximately 4,000 exhibitors and aims to be the largest in its history. Boeing's workers in the US ended their strike, with 60% approving a collective agreement that includes a 38% wage increase over four years and a $12,000 bonus for each worker. The average Boeing salary will rise from $75,600 to $119,300. Global air traffic reached a record high in September, with demand (measured in PKT) up 7.1% over September 2023, outpacing capacity (measured in ASK) which grew 5.8%, leading to a load factor of 83.6%.

✈ Lufthansa's Airbus A350 will land in Mount Pleasant, Falklands, on March 10 next year, not as a new route but as a charter to transport scientists from the Alfredo Wagener Institute, Germany, to Antarctic bases via boat. The flight departs from Munich at 7 AM, arriving at 7 PM, with a 15-hour duration both ways. The return flight leaves on March 12 and lands in Munich on March 13 at 1 PM. This follows Lufthansa's longest flight in 2021 from Hamburg to Falklands. A350 flights replaced Cape Town routes, offering convenience for the connecting ship, Polarstern.

💧 La DANA (Depresión Aislada en Niveles Altos) ha afectado al este y sur de España, causando desaparecidos y graves inundaciones, incluyendo el aeropuerto de Manises cerca de Valencia. Las imágenes, filmadas ayer, muestran las instalaciones de Air Nostrum inundadas. Controladores aéreos de Enaire en Valencia, gestionaron desvíos de vuelos, con ayuda de bomberos para acceder a sus puestos de trabajo. Pasajeros relatan estar atrapados en aviones durante horas debido a las tormentas.

🛫 On a recent flight, a Vueling Airbus A320 took the longest route in history between Málaga and Bilbao, lasting approximately 3 hours instead of the usual 1.5 hours due to dense fog near Bilbao Airport, causing about 100 minutes of circling before landing, as reported by Spotting BIO on X (formerly Twitter).

🚀 On October 13, 1977, at Son Sant Joan Airport in Palma de Mallorca, Flight 181, a Lufthansa Boeing 737 with 87 passengers, was hijacked by five members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine en route to Frankfurt. After multiple forced stops, it ended in Mogadishu, Somalia. German police's GSG unit fatally shot three hijackers and rescued the hostages five days later, but not before the pilot, Jürgen Schumann, was murdered. The plane, named "Landshut," flew for eight more years before being abandoned in Fortaleza in 2008. Acquired by the Dornier Museum for €20,000 in 2017, it will be displayed at the "Democracy Space" exhibition by the German Ministry of Education at Lake Constance from 2026.

🏢 Airmet held the second stage of its "Con Altura" tour in Madrid, gathering over a hundred professionals to discuss challenges and marketing strategies for independent agencies. Key speakers included Guillermo González Vallina and Fernando Lucini from W2M, Manuel López of Intermundial, Antonio Luis Fernández from Bedsonline, Jorge Serrano of Costa Cruceros, Adolfo García from Iberia, and Virginia Díaz from Amadeus. The next stop of the tour is scheduled in Barcelona on Friday, October 25.

🎄 European Christmas markets traditionally run from mid-November to late December, with the demand for visiting these destinations surging during the season. Top tour operators in Spain like Special Tours, Catai, Mundosenior, Ávoris, Viajes El Corte Inglés, Nautalia Viajes, and Viajes Carrefour have scheduled trips ranging from an average of 4-5 days to as long as 8 days. Strasbourg, France, hosts one of the oldest Christmas markets since 1570, attracting over 2 million visitors. Other notable markets include those in Prague, Budapest, which has been repeatedly awarded the European Best Destinations title, Gdansk, Nuremberg, Geneva, Cologne with 4 million annual visitors, Vienna, Brussels with over 2.5 million annual visitors, and London's Hyde Park. These markets offer not only shopping opportunities but also a festive atmosphere with entertainment such as live music, Ferris wheels, and ice skating.