Marketing

📱 Visit Scotland shifts its tourism strategy to focus on creating social media content rather than providing in-person info: betting big on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram. The majority of travelers make key decisions before their trip, influencing their time and spending in Scotland. From 126 pre-pandemic information offices, only 25 remain, with plans to close them soon despite some opposition from local businesses.

✈ Iberia schedules a record number of flights and seats for the summer season starting March 29, offering 3.2 million seats to Latin America, a 4% increase from 2024 with over 300 weekly flights. Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo will see the most growth, each adding three weekly flights, resulting in 21 and 14 weekly flights respectively. Lima will add an extra frequency for twice-daily flights starting in May. Mexico and Bogotá maintain three daily flights; Montevideo and Quito one daily. Santiago de Chile to have 10 weekly flights, increasing to 11 from June. Río de Janeiro, Caracas, and Guayaquil to maintain current frequencies. Central America and the Caribbean to maintain a similar offer as in 2024, with daily flights to several destinations. With the new A321XLR aircraft, Iberia will increase its US flights by 14% over last year, offering 1.1 million seats and 140 weekly flights. Direct flights available to eight US cities. Maintains three weekly flights to Japan with 53,000 total seats and daily flights to Qatar, with additional code-shared flights. Offers 16 million seats for short and medium-haul flights, matching 2024 figures, with increased frequencies to Rome and Paris. Resumes seasonal flights to several European destinations.

🏂 On a recent Sunday, Roccaraso, a ski resort near Naples, was overwhelmed by 10,000 people, triggered by influencer Rita de Crescenzo's social media post about a heavy snowfall. This led to bus companies organizing trips from Naples, resulting in 220 buses and hundreds of cars traveling the 130 km to the resort, each bus charging €20 per passenger. The unexpected influx caused chaos, with no parking space, uncontrolled crowds, and improvised barbecues. Roccaraso's mayor described the situation as chaotic and a security issue, prompting future police checks to limit access.

🏖 Viajes El Corte Inglés targets clients over 60 with a special campaign, offering competitive prices: Benidorm from €189 (5 nights, full board), Mallorca from €415 (7 nights, flights, transfers, all-inclusive), Menorca from €477 (6 nights, flights, transfers, full board), and Islantilla from €526 (5 nights, full board). Promises to match competitors' prices, gifts up to €500, no cancellation fees, and payment in three installments.

🏖️ Viajes El Corte Inglés welcomes the public at Fitur this weekend with up to 20% discounts at their booth in pavilion 8. Offers include a Travel Card worth up to €200 for future bookings and a raffle for a trip to Egypt and a Mediterranean cruise. Promotions cover national and international destinations, Easter and summer holidays, with activities like virtual trips and tastings at the event.

🎸 Luis Riu, CEO of the Riu hotel chain, celebrated the Sant Sebastián festivities as a DJ at Palma de Mallorca's city center on Saturday. The event featured the Colombás brothers, Jaume and Paco, also known for their roles as speakers for Real Mallorca and their restaurant 'El Bandarra'. Local dignitaries, including mayor Jaime Martínez and president Marga Prohens, also participated in DJing. The festival highlighted the upcoming luxury experience agency 'Delaisla', debuting at Fitur.

🚩 A fake video series showing Airbus A380 accidents from airlines such as Emirates, Qantas, and British Airways has gone viral, totaling nearly 300 posts and hundreds of thousands of views, some surpassing 200,000. Emirates responded last week clarifying the videos are fabricated, and has contacted platforms for removal. Requests for video takedown are slow; many still online. The videos feature a voiceover with made-up stories of A380 planes crashing.

💸 Emirates, a major aviation player, had to refute a viral video of a fake Airbus A380 crash on social media. The airline confirmed the video as false and digitally created. They have contacted platforms to remove or clarify the video's nature, emphasizing the slow response to their requests. The incident was reported on January 4, 2025.

📷 According to the 2019 Avis Travel Trends report, 58% of travelers aged 18-34 are influenced by the aesthetics of destinations seen on social media. MMGY Global notes that 34% of American travelers are swayed by TikTok. Instagram's impact has led to overcrowding at Caló des Moro in Mallorca, with queues of up to three hours and gatherings of 1,000 people on a 30 square meter beach. Bali's popularity among influencers has forced local authorities to set new visitor guidelines due to disruptive tourist behavior.

✈ Iberia offers domestic flights from €24, Europe from €29, the US from €187, Latin America from €232, and Asia from €330. Pre-sale for registered users starts today, with the general sale on January 7th, lasting until January 27th, for travel until June 14th. Air Europa's Time to Fly for 2025 includes domestic flights from €25, Europe from €29, the US from €209, and the Caribbean/Central/South America from €259, plus Baleares/Peninsula from €12 and Canarias/Peninsula from €16. Valid for travel within Spain/Europe until June 12th, long-haul until November 30th, round-trip without checked baggage.