Tendencias del mercado

🏖️ Major travel sector leaders have reported transformative strategic changes across various niches—vertical conglomerates, tour operators, bedbanks, and OTAs. Tour operators are maintaining a 16% commission to retailers despite increased costs and shrinking margins. Bedbanks are experiencing significant sales growth, with Hotelbeds improving profitability projections after cost reductions before September. OTAs are seeing slowed growth, with Trivago evolving into an online agency. These shifts are quietly revolutionizing the travel sales industry.

🏖️ In September, tourism employment in Spain increased by 73,107 workers (2.6% year-on-year), reaching 2,862,231, or 13.5% of the country's total affiliated workers. The sector's growth outpaced the national labor market average by 1%. Hospitality saw the most significant rise with 36,780 jobs, followed by travel agencies with 3,135 jobs, and other activities with 33,192 jobs. Asalaried employees grew by 3.1%, accounting for 82.4% of the sector, while self-employed positions increased by 0.6%. The Canary Islands led regional growth at 4.5%, with Madrid at 3% and Valencia at 2.9%.

🚀 In summer 2025, United will lead connections between Europe and the USA, introducing new routes and modifying current ones. In Spain, United ends flights to Tenerife (now a winter destination) and increases Mallorca flights from three to four weekly. Dubrovnik flights become daily. Eight new routes include Bilbao (three times weekly with a Boeing 757), Palermo, Funchal, Faro, Dakar, Greenland, and additional ones in the Far East. United targets not just European capitals but also medium-sized cities like Málaga, without changes in existing plans. Most flights depart from Newark, New York, with a few from Washington DC to Niza and Venecia, unchanged from previous years.

✈ IATA reports 14% of the global aircraft fleet is grounded, 4 percentage points higher than pre-COVID levels, totaling approximately 1,600 additional stored planes. Widebody storage rate is 12.1%, up from 7.5% in August 2019, mainly in Europe and North America. The B777 model has 166 units parked with an average age of 20 years, compared to the total in-service commercial fleet average of 13 years. Short-haul aircraft, especially turboprops, see 25.8% not in service, up from 19.2% five years ago. For narrow-body planes, the rate is 10.5%, compared to 7.7% in 2019; discounting 635 temporarily retired due to Pratt & Whitney engine issues, the rate would be 7.4%. North America has the highest number of grounded aircraft, partly due to the US pilot shortage.

🏨 Madrid led a significant increase in hotel prices in the summer of 2024, with Revenue per Available Room (RevPar) jumping 24.5% to €109.1 compared to €87.6 in 2023. San Sebastián, typically Spain's most expensive city, saw a slight 2.2% decrease to €186.5. Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, and Málaga also experienced rises of 8.1%, 10.6%, and 12.1% in RevPar, respectively. Santander and Alicante's hotel revenues rose by 16.5% and 14.2%, reaching €130.9 and €122.2, respectively.

🏝 Canarias anticipates increased tourist arrivals due to conflicts in the Middle East, potentially worsening in the coming months. Airlines are already suspending flights to affected destinations. Past conflicts such as the Arab Spring, between 2010 and 2017, redirected tourists to Canarias, avoiding attacks in Egypt, Tunisia, and Turkey. Official data show 300,000 to 350,000 tourists were diverted to Canarias, constituting 20% of the 1.7 million new arrivals in 2011.

🏠 Over 1 million tourists from China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia visited Spain by August, focusing on high spending levels and non-seasonal travel. In 2023, 388,103 Chinese tourists spent an average of 2,951 euros, with a 25% spending increase and a record in connectivity. By August 2024, 450,000+ Chinese travelers, though 3% less than in 2019, spent 3,107 euros on average. Japan and Korea sent nearly half a million tourists to Spain by July, spending an average of 500 euros (Japan) and 371 euros (Korea), totaling 840 million euros and 1.273 billion euros, respectively. Southeast Asian tourists represent 0.42% market share, 0.9% of total spending, with 362,000 travelers in the previous year. Spain's tourism optimism continues into 2025, surpassing pre-pandemic figures, with a focus on direct flight connectivity, such as Iberia resuming Madrid-Tokyo flights in 2024.

🌍 Travelers booking online favor Costa de Almería, Costa Dorada, Balearic Islands, and Canary Islands for autumn, with around 2% of Spaniards traveling during this season. International trips follow suit with destinations like Mykonos, Santorini, Athens, Paris, New York, Venice, and Amsterdam. Popular package tours include Punta Cana, Riviera Maya, and Egypt. The average booking cost exceeds €1,000 for 5.28 days, with a significant price drop in November to €732 for 5.27 days. The preferred travel company is Iberia, followed by Air Europa, Vueling, Delta, and American Airlines.

🛩 Spain anticipates needing 11,000 new pilots over the next decade, yet only half are currently graduating. Pilot training requires a 2-year course without prior aeronautical knowledge, costing upwards of €80,000. The generational gap is exacerbated by retiring 'baby boomers' and the costly training hindering new pilots. Airlines globally estimate 600,000 pilots will be needed within 20 years. Spanish airlines offer salaries ranging from €35,000 for novices to €140,000 for veteran commanders, contrasting with Emirates commanders earning €190,000 and American Airlines pilots up to €700,000 per year.

📍 A Ryanair Boeing 737-800 with 184 passengers was evacuated due to a wing fire at Brindisi Airport, Italy; incident details remain unknown. Ferrer Hotels will manage a new hotel in Mallorca starting 2026, following an agreement with the Pascual Mardones family. Ryanair led European airlines with 182 million passengers in 2023, followed by Lufthansa with 123 million and IAG with 113 million, representing a 17% increase from the previous year, only 3% below 2019 levels. Finnair will resume daily flights between Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Helsinki starting October 2. The Imserso travel program offers 211 hotels for the 2024-2025 season, with sales starting September 23. Madrid's luxury tourism will expand to include nightlife. Ibervalles plans a 5-star hotel near Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, with CBRE searching for hotel operators. Jaime Batle, at 90, continues to lead Hotel Condesa after founding Mar Hotels and Majestic Resorts. The top 10 sustainable cities of 2024 have been listed by Corporate Knights in National Geographic.