Innovaciones

✈ Antonio Rama, former Boeing 777 pilot for Qatar Airways, founded Uruguay's sole commercial airline, SUA (Sociedad Uruguaya de Aviación), following the closure of state-run Pluna 20 years ago. SUA will start with six Airbus 220 planes, flying from Montevideo to destinations like Buenos Aires, Porto Alegre, and cities within Argentina. Funding comes from Saudi Arabia. SUA aims to expand to 10 planes in three years, create 300 jobs, and establish a unique A220 maintenance center in Latin America. Previously, Rama's U-Air project failed before it could launch.

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📖 Thinktur presented the 10th edition of the eBook "Transformación digital del destino: gemelos digitales en el sector turístico" during FITURTECHY 2025 (January 22-24) in Madrid. The eBook, a reference for the tourism sector, includes contributions from eight Spanish Tourism Technology Centers: ADA, Invat·tur, ITH, Eurecat, Tecnalia, Turistec, Vicomtech, and Segittur. Digital twins are utilized for process management, monitoring, and personalizing experiences for destinations and tourism businesses. Special collaborations are included from Libelium and Smart City Cluster, showcasing additional use cases such as Las Palmas' SUSTTWIN and Barcelona's AI-driven Salvador Dalí avatar.

🏖 The article highlights the importance of a holistic, emotional connection with customers in the digital tourism sector. It emphasizes the role of branding as a living experience, advocating for an omnichannel and consistent approach. The use of "atomic design" is mentioned for building modular visual systems, ensuring brand coherence and adaptability. The article discusses the transformative potential of AI in customer experience, advising on technology's use to enhance human connections rather than replace them. It also addresses the need for brands to adapt and anticipate changes in customer expectations and technological tools. The article concludes that the journey, much like the one to Ítaca, is about continuous learning and evolution, creating memorable experiences beyond just reaching a destination.

🏖️ Due to the pandemic, tourism shifted towards rural areas, with market penetration growing by 5 points, reaching 45.6% in 2024. Spending in this sector increased by 7.6% with travelers spending an average of €91 per person per day, up from €84 in 2023. Accommodation cost €32 per night, while other expenses amounted to €59 per day. 87% of rural accommodation owners believe there's room for growth, despite only 37% occupancy on weekends in 2024. The key to further growth includes promoting geographical diversity, authenticity, and off-season travel.

💰 Wakalua, linked to Globalia, charged up to €1 million annually for services, connecting Begoña Gómez, Air Europa, and Juan Carlos Barrabés, who secured three public contracts with the government. Founded in 2019, Wakalua aimed for sustainable tourism. Platinum clients paid €500,000 for new business lines with startups; Gold clients, €200,000 for innovation programs; Silver clients, €35,000 for innovation positioning. Additionally, Wakalua paid €25,000 annually to Gómez's foundation for tourism innovation awards.

🏠 VisitMadridGPT, developed by Madrid's City Council, won "The AI for Tourism Awards 2025" among 12 AI solutions at Fitur Know-How & Export. The AI tool enhances visitor experience by providing personalized plans and information in 95 languages, accessible on multiple devices 24/7, and assists Madrid in analyzing tourist interaction data for marketing strategies. Finalists included the WhatsApp-based tourist guide AMALia and the no-code platform Bespokely for creating custom AI applications. AI now plays a significant role in tourism for personalized experiences and customer service.

🔧 On January 27, 2025, the importance of maintenance management for productivity and competitiveness in industries was highlighted. GMAO software, which stands for computer-assisted maintenance management, helps manage maintenance operations and resources, aiming for total productive maintenance and cost efficiency. The software ensures effective asset management, reduced downtime, centralized information, and better decision-making. It facilitates preventive and predictive maintenance, ultimately leading to optimized production processes and costs. Zucchetti Spain offers technological partnership for implementing a GMAO system tailored to business needs.

🚘 AVIS, a premium vehicle rental leader, operates over 10,000 offices in 180 countries and focuses on sustainability. In 2024, it enhanced traveler experiences with new services and started 2025 with tech tools for travel agencies to streamline booking management. Successful innovations include the Self Service Kiosk with an NPS over 60, available in 14 Iberian locations such as Santiago and Madrid, and QuickPass for expedited vehicle pick-up. The AVIS App allows full rental control, while AVIS Preferred DRIVE offers up to 20% discounts and extra benefits for members. BEEP, introduced at FITUR 2025, is a digital platform for agencies to manage AVIS bookings with commissionable transactions.

🏕 Destinia's CEO, Ricardo Fernández, declared the past year as the company's best ever, despite challenges such as Germany's consumption contraction, Turkey's rising competition, the USA's market slowdown due to elections, and Mexico's halt due to peso devaluation. Higher Average Daily Rates (ADRs) with less occupancy were reported. He participated in Fiturtechy's panel "La lámpara de las ideas: con los pies en la tierra" along with other industry leaders. Fernández forecasts 2025 as a "fantastic year" but anticipates the need for hard work due to competitive destinations like Turkey and North Africa. Opportunities in tourism are seen for 2025, with expectations of resolving two active conflicts and benefiting from a strong dollar. The long-haul markets, particularly the U.S. and Middle East, show promise with strong connectivity and high growth. Marina López from Grupo Hotusa and Cristina Cabañas from Guitart Hotels also highlight the benefits of a strong dollar and the higher consumption of long-haul customers in hotels.