Tendencias del mercado

🏡 In 2024, Japan saw a record 36.87 million international tourists, surpassing the previous annual record of 31.88 million in 2019. Tourist spending hit a historic high with 8.14 trillion yen (€50 billion), exceeding 2019's 5.31 trillion yen (€33 billion). The top visitor sources included South Korea (8.81 million), China (6.98 million), and Taiwan (6.04 million), with notable growth from the United States and European countries. The government aims to attract 60 million visitors and reach 15 trillion yen (€93 billion) in spending by 2030.

🏨 Los bancos de camas son intermediarios turísticos B2B que adquieren habitaciones y servicios de viaje a precios negociados para comercializarlos a agencias y operadores turísticos. Su importancia radica en proporcionar a hoteles acceso a una red global de distribuidores, maximizando la ocupación y visibilidad. Operan estableciendo acuerdos con proveedores y distribuyendo inventario a revendedores, con la tecnología jugando un papel clave en la gestión en tiempo real. Proveedores destacados incluyen Hotelbeds en España, WebBeds en Singapur, y Travco en Londres, entre otros. Las tendencias actuales apuntan a mayor conectividad, énfasis en la paridad de tarifas, crecimiento de nuevos actores, uso de datos y análisis, y expansión a mercados especializados.

🏨 Minor Hotels Europe & Americas is implementing a growth strategy in emerging markets like Portugal and Brazil, focusing on areas with high potential and maintaining low debt levels. Ramón Aragonés of NH Hotel Group highlights the expansion in Latin America and Southern Europe, enhancing the company's positioning in the luxury hotels and resorts segments. The strategic investments, made in a context of low debt, aim to add value to NH's portfolio and strengthen its business model in key destinations. The approach includes diversifying assets and balancing urban and vacation destinations. Aragonés will receive the Hosteltur Personality of the Year 2024 award on January 23 at 13:00 at FiturtechY, Techydestino forum, pavilion 10B.

📈 Sabre Hospitality Solutions identifies eight key trends transforming the hotel sector by 2025. Personalization is vital, with 71% of consumers expecting individualized experiences and 75% preferring hotels offering personalized interactions. The industry is shifting towards selling a broad range of services beyond room bookings with 60% of travelers willing to pay more for unique services. Customers spending on add-ons average $300 and are seven times less likely to cancel. Flexible payment solutions like "Buy Now, Pay Later" are preferred by 40% of travelers, increasing booking values. By end of 2025, 80% of customer interactions are expected to involve AI. Seven out of ten travelers now favor booking flexibility, with integrated protection features becoming standard. The average spending on experience gifts is $429, and $262 on vouchers. Collaboration is essential to meet these evolving challenges and opportunities.

🏖 Mark Tanzer, CEO of Abta, indicates that British tourist interest in Spain remains high despite past turismophobia, especially in Benidorm and the Balearics. Throughout 2024, travel business performed well and interest continues to grow for late 2024 and early 2025. Despite rising living costs and high inflation, the UK travel sector remains competitive, offering quality, affordable vacations. ABTA encourages respectful travel, and Spain is still the top destination for Brits, with a third choosing it in 2024. ABTA's annual convention will be held in Mallorca for the fourth time, highlighting the island's significance.

👽 Every year, chaos ensues at 9:00 AM when Imserso travel sales start, with hundreds of thousands vying for 886,269 spots—far fewer than the over four million accredited, a number rising due to Spain's aging population. Conflicts arise involving the contracting firm, unfairly accused travel agencies, and Imserso itself. Tirant eGob consultancy, hired by the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030 entity, urges a rotation system for fairer access and proposes destination-based waitlists without regional preference.

🏖 Dubrovnik leads European cities with 95% of hotel stays by international travelers; Palma-Calvià follows at 91%, then Venice at 87%, Barcelona at 86%, and Madrid at 61%. Sevilla records 59% while Berlin has the lowest at 40%. In 2023, London continued as the top urban destination for hotel stays but didn't reach pre-pandemic levels, unlike Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Barcelona, which surpassed their 2019 numbers.

✈ Iberia Group surpassed 30 million passengers in a year, totaling 30.7 million across Iberia, Iberia Express, and Air Nostrum. Iberia led with approximately 18.7 million, followed by Iberia Express with nearly 7.6 million, and Air Nostrum with 4.4 million. The growth was fueled by increased demand in business and leisure travel, particularly in Latin America and with new 2024 destinations like Japan, Tirana, Liubliana, Salzburg, Innsbruck, and Tromso. In Latin America, Iberia saw a 16% capacity increase, offering 5.3 million seats across 18 airports with an average of 320 flights weekly.

🏨 In 2024, UK hotel investment hit a six-year high nearing €7 billion, with hotel transactions reaching £5.75 billion (€6.932 billion) – more than double the 2023 figure, as reported by Savills. Portfolio transactions, such as Blackstone's acquisition of Village Hotel and KKR & Baupost's purchase of 33 Marriott hotels, accounted for 55% or £3.14 billion (€3.785 billion) of this total, marking a 582% year-on-year increase. High-profile transactions included KKR's Marriott portfolio for roughly £900 million (€1.085 billion) and Proprium's exit from Motel One for about €1.25 billion. Regional hotel transactions were at £3.34 billion (€4.026 billion), 58% of the total and a 217% year-on-year jump. London transactions grew by 105% to £2.4 billion (€2.893 billion).

💰 Half of the reserved spots for low-income pensioners in Spain's Imserso tourism program go unfilled, even with a 50% subsidy. An analysis by Tirant eGob reveals that annually, over 50% of the 1% quota for economically vulnerable individuals remains vacant, debunking the need to increase the quota according to Imserso. The report suggests further study into accessibility barriers, considering factors like gender, disability, economic vulnerability, and urban-rural differences.