Tendencias del mercado

🏕 TUI Group's high season bookings are up 6% over the previous year, despite a 3% price increase. For the current summer, 88% of the capacity has been sold, with the UK market up 5% and TUI Germany customers up 10% compared to last summer. The UK winter program has sold 32%, with bookings at the same level as last year. TUI's full-year 2024 guidance is based on a strong increase in underlying EBIT, with improvements in Hotels & Resorts and Cruises.

🌡 Experts predict a 'megathrust' earthquake in Japan's southeast region, affecting tourism during the Bon holiday week when many workers are off. Last week, Japan's meteorological agency warned of an earthquake after a minor tremor in Miyazaki. Tourist businesses report mass reservation cancellations, even newly renovated ones. Several Shizuoka beaches closed due to a lack of lifeguards who left due to the earthquake threat. The anticipated quake zone is along the Nankai fault, marked in red on maps.

🏖️ Spanish nationals rank among the most avid seekers of unique experiences while traveling, with 31% expressing this desire, placing them ninth on the Statista Consumer Insights ranking led by South Africa at 54%. This study spanned July 2023 to the previous month, surveying 21 countries where on average, 38% sought unique travel experiences. Global tourism recoveries show 1.3 billion arrivals in 2023, shy of the 1.5 billion in 2019. China leads in tourism spending with $197 billion, followed by the U.S. ($150 billion), Germany ($112 billion), and the U.K. ($110 billion). Overall, incoming tourist revenues, including flights, hit $1.5 trillion in 2023.

🏦 In Spain, €1.385 billion were invested in hotels during the first half of the year, with Barcelona accounting for 21% (€285 million) of the total. The Baleares led with 29%, followed by Canarias at 16%. There were 12 transactions in Barcelona totaling 1,163 rooms. Luxury hotels attracted 36% of the investment in the city, approximately €100 million, with significant deals including Atom Hoteles Socimi acquiring Hotel Miramar and Gran Hotel La Florida for €50 million, and the sale of Ocean Drive Barcelona for €52 million. Other notable sales were the Hampton by Hilton Barcelona at €50 million and Hotel Ciutat Barcelona for €29 million. Azora purchased Jacobs Inn in Barcelona and another property in Dublin for €55 million, while Bestprice Hoteles acquired Bestprice Barcelona Stadium for €1.5 million. Spanish investors represented 38% of the market share, followed by UK investors at 21%, with 'prime' hotel yields stable at 5.25% in Barcelona.

✈ Since the past 50 years, aircraft leasing has surged from 10% to 58% of the total fleet by the end of 2023. The leap over the 50% mark occurred between 1980 and 2010, stabilizing around 60% recently. Budget carriers like IndiGo, Lion Air, AirAsia, Wizz Air, and traditional ones such as Delta and British Airways, rely on this model. In Europe, Latin America, and Asia, the leased fleet nears 70%, surpassing the global average, while the U.S. stands at 40% due to better capital market access.

🚀 Emirates' gigantic A380, the world's largest passenger plane, was filmed by spotter @manavaviation23 landing at Heathrow in a nearly frontal view, passing just meters above a nearby road with moving cars. The spotter exclaimed that the experience "really shook my heart!

💸 Leading Spanish agencies report a slowdown in tourism demand, despite prior high figures during Easter. To counteract the decrease and consumers' lowered purchasing power due to inflation, agencies like Viajes El Corte Inglés and Halcón Viajes offer extended discounts. Experts note the impact of early booking campaigns on last-minute sales. Optimism remains for a post-summer rebound, despite high prices and economic recession fears.

✈ Global aviation was disrupted from July 19-21 due to a Microsoft system failure, canceling over 5,000 flights. Iberia Express led Europe with an OTP of 79.79%, despite a slight drop from June. Madrid-Barajas Airport's OTP fell to 62.48%, while Vueling improved by 2 points to 76.47%. Iberia ranks 10th worldwide with an OTP of 73.82%, and Latin American airlines show high punctuality, with Azul, LATAM, Avianca, and Aeroméxico leading. Latin America saw a 24% reduction in flight cancellations in July compared to June.

🏖️ Spain's tourism employment in Q2 saw a 3.5% rise from the same period in 2023, reaching 2,965,784 workers. Tourism activities now account for 13.7% of total Spanish economic employment. Active tourism workers surpassed 3 million (3,264,381), a 4.3% year-on-year increase. The unemployment rate in tourism stood at 9.1%, below the national rate of 11.3%. Hospitality jobs grew by 4%, with food/beverage services up 3.5% and accommodation services up 5.3%. Passenger transport employment rose by 8.6%, and travel agencies saw an 8% hike. Salaried employees (2,474,024) increased by 3.9%, particularly in passenger transport (7.2%) and hospitality (5.2%). Permanent contracts in tourism rose by 8.4%, marking the twelfth consecutive increase, while temporary contracts fell by 14.5%. The top regions for tourism jobs were Catalonia, Madrid, Andalusia, and the Valencia region, with La Rioja experiencing the biggest drop at 22.8%.

💸 Spanish consumer spending at travel agencies fell for two consecutive months with a 1.5% drop in July, following a 3% decline in June. In contrast, hotel spending increased by 3.7%. Overall, Spain's consumption in July grew by 3.6% year-over-year, driven by in-person spending, while e-commerce remained strong with a 13% rise. Foreigner spending in Spain grew by 13%, albeit 2 percentage points lower than in June. Cultural and entertainment expenditures rose by 7.3%, transportation by 8.1%, and even gas stations saw a 0.6% increase.