Nombramientos

📌 Toni Frau, former General Manager of Traveltool (part of Viajes El Corte Inglés), joins Ávoris' team during a tense period between the two major travel companies due to disputes over Imserso commercial issues. Frau, after 14+ years at Traveltool since January 2011 and a 25-year tenure at the now-defunct Orizonia, takes on this new position as Ávoris focuses on agency business, including nearly 500 offices from groups like Geomoon, Gea, and soon Dit Gestión. Ávoris' agency division is led by Endika Ormaeche. Traveltool joined Viajes El Corte Inglés in October 2021 following the integration of Logitravel.

📍 World2Meet (W2M) aims to expand the business of its associated travel agencies nationally and internationally, appointing Jesús Juárez to lead the newly established general management of associated agencies. Juárez, who founded ByTour, joined W2M as an advisor after its acquisition in June 2022 and now joins the executive team under Gabriel Subías. With nearly 30 years in the travel agency sector, Juárez's prominent roles included operations director at Viajes Marsans since 1996 and general director at Halcón Viajes until his departure from Globalia in 2014. He founded ByTour, serving as CEO until the sale to W2M in 2022.

💰 Ignacio González, with over 25 years in tourism, was appointed as the new General Director of Consultia Business Travel, a Spanish company specializing in comprehensive business travel management. González previously served as Business Development Director at RACE since November 2023 and held positions at Globalia Corporate Travel, BCD Travel, Viajes Barceló, Viajes Crisol (Grupo Marsans), and Ilunion Viajes. He will report to CEO and founder Juan Manuel Baixauli, focusing on the growth and consolidation of the firm.

✈ Lufthansa Group relaunches tourism packages as "Eurowings Holidays", a new tour operator registered in Cologne, starting April 1, as per an official statement.

🏡 Marco Táboas, appointed in December, replaces Susanna Sciacovelli as the new Insular Director of Tourism for Demand and Hospitality. Táboas, with a career in digital transformation and strategic leadership in tourism and industry, has served as regional and commercial director for Selina Hotels in EMEA since April 2024. He has held various roles including Director Online at Ávoris Corporación Empresarial and Head of Digital at Halcón Viajes. Sciacovelli was named for the position in June 2023 by the Insular Tourism Minister of Mallorca, Marcial Rodriguez.

💸 Lastminute.com reported a 34% year-over-year increase in dynamic package segment revenues, reaching €62.5 million in Q4 2024. Gross profit improved by 6% to €26.1 million, with adjusted EBITDA growing 135% compared to 2023. The online travel agency's take rate for dynamic packages hit a record 10.3%, boosting profitability to 13.8%—a 1.6 percentage point increase from the previous year. Overall, in 2024, despite a 2% annual revenue drop to €313.7 million, the company's net result doubled to €15.7 million, with EBIT up 84% to €25.2 million, and earnings per share increasing from €0.65 to €1.47.

🏨 Gabriel Escarrer, presidente ejecutivo de Meliá, ha nombrado un vicepresidente ejecutivo en América para impulsar el crecimiento de la cadena hotelera en la región. El nuevo cargo colaborará con Bernat Cabot, vicepresidente de expansión, quien posee experiencia en Asia. El anuncio fue adelantado por 'Desarrollo' un martes sin especificar la fecha.

✈ Iberia shifts to using Air Nostrum's 100-seat CRJ 1000 aircraft instead of Airbus A320, with up to 180 seats, at Santiago de Compostela's Lavacolla Airport, as traveler demand drops. Ryanair also reduces its presence. The change is attributed to the high-speed AVE rail service's 22 daily connections, offering 58,000 weekly seats. Ryanair and Air Europa continue operations from La Coruña and Vigo to Madrid, with altered frequencies and schedules.

🏨 The Aeropuerto de Córdoba is gaining attention for 2025 as airlines like Vueling, Binter, and now Air Nostrum announce operations, with Air Nostrum resuming summer connections to the Balearics. Cathay Pacific sees Spain as a key connector between Europe and Asia, targeting growth surpassing pre-pandemic levels by 2025. Meliá Hotels International readies the relaunch of its flagship brand in the Canaries and soon the Caribbean. Following the approval of Hyatt and Piñero's alliance, Antonio Ferragut is appointed as the new CEO of Grupo Piñero's hotel division, planning expansion and repositioning for 2025-26. Iberostar aims to boost its expansion with its Iberostar Beachfront Resorts brand, eyeing growth in Africa beyond Tunisia and Morocco. Meliá and Summum will open a luxury hotel in Santa Ponsa, Mallorca by 2026. Natalia Bayona of UNWTO emphasizes the importance of safety and trust in tourism regarding ODS16. Rosewood Hotels & Resorts has named Friedrich Von Schönburg as regional vice president, while he remains the general manager of Rosewood Villa Magna, awarded Best Hotel in Madrid 2024. Spanish hotel chains have a presence in 68 countries with over 1,200 hotels and 280,000 rooms, with three Caribbean countries holding

🏨 Javier Vich, a hotelier managing Summum, a 14-hotel chain associated with Meliá, recently took over as president of the Mallorca Hotel Association. Despite rejecting the Balearic eco-tax increase for tourists, he asserts it won't impact the upcoming tourist season. Vich witnessed a minor slowdown in early bookings, especially from the UK market, at Fitur but remains unperturbed. He advocates for the current hotel pricing in Mallorca, citing a significant transformation in the sector over the past 10-12 years with diverse offerings for all budgets. Mallorca now attracts luxury tourism that wasn't present before, and Vich stresses the subjectivity of pricing debates, emphasizing quality and service. The hotel industry is ready to adjust to demand fluctuations, with no observed downturn necessitating price reductions. Vich also addresses the challenge of illegal vacation rentals and emphasizes the importance of addressing broader issues like housing and mobility that indirectly affect the tourism industry. He acknowledges competition from emerging destinations like Turkey and Albania, stressing the importance of maintaining safety as a key factor for success in the upcoming season. Finally, he contextualizes the issue of 'tourism-phobia' in Mallorca as a minority-driven phenomenon, exacerbated by infrastructural and housing deficiencies.