Tendencias del mercado

🏢 Meliá Hotels International improved its net result by 28.3% to €139.4 million up to September, with notable performance in Spain and globally in EMEA and Asia Pacific. Minor Hotels Europe & Americas increased its net profit by 46.3% to €141 million, with revenues of €1.789 billion, up from the previous year. An agreement was reached to raise the VAT for tourist apartment rentals to 21%, targeting luxury goods with a new tax. The Annual Congress of the Travel Agent by Hosteltur will take place online this Tuesday and Wednesday, featuring over 25 speakers on travel intermediation challenges.

🏖️ The Canary Islands government targets consolidating tourism as a key sector by 2025, with a focus on sustainability, digitalization, talent attraction, and training. Jéssica de León, head of the Tourism Department, outlined a €27 million promotional budget aimed at attracting responsible tourists. Overall, the tourism budget will increase by 2.53% to €244.27 million, including €5.3 million for Climate Action Plans, €582,000 for the Tourism Observatory, and €2.8 million for the Tourism Intelligence System. Infrastructural development will receive a 10.26% boost to €25.5 million, alongside €1.8 million for the Elder Museum of Science and Technology, and €1.5 million for accessibility projects in tourist municipalities. A new €1 million fund is set up for innovation and sustainability projects within infrastructure. The General Directorate for Planning, Training, and Tourism Promotion will have a budget of €54.6 million, up 9.21%.

🚨 In the Comunidad Valenciana, a recent DANA (weather event) has resulted in over 10,000 rental vehicles lost, impacting 92% of rental companies, mainly small and medium-sized businesses, risking their viability. Feneval estimates significant losses and urges for 100% compensation instead of the current 80%, and calls for expedited aid distribution and a financing line from the Insurance Compensation Consortium. They also extended solidarity to victims and gratitude to emergency services.

🏨 Meliá Hotels International led Spanish hotel chains in revenue from 2014 to 2020, while Riu Hotels & Resorts has been the top earner since 2022, exceeding its followers by over €600 million. The Barceló Hotel Group jumped to second place in 2017 after acquiring Crestline Hotels & Resorts and showed the least decline post-pandemic. The top five chains from 2020 include NH Hotel Group (now Minor Hotels Europe & America) and Eurostars Hotel Company. Among the 34 chains assessed, 10 exhibited three-digit growth from 2014 to 2023, with Grupo Hotusa leading at a 391% increase, followed by HM Hotels-Whala!Hotels (271%), and Magic Costa Blanca (225%).

❄ Tallin, Estonia, leads European snowy destinations with an average of 20.5 snow days per month, followed by Vilna, Lithuania (18.5 days), Erfurt, Germany (17.25 days), Turku, Finland (16.75 days), Helsinki, Finland (16.5 days), and Kiev, Ukraine, and Kaunas, Lithuania, tied with 16 days. Grenoble, France, Riga, Latvia, and Innsbruck, Austria, all average 15.5 snow days. Data was gathered from 2009 to 2021 for December through March by Holidu using worldweatheronline.com.

🌍 In 2024, Turkey's Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy aims to hit $60 billion in tourism revenue and rank as a top-three destination for visitors. Currently fifth in tourist numbers, Turkey is boosting promotional efforts in the US, China, and South Korea, with over one million American tourists last year and expectations to surpass 1.5 million this year, alongside an anticipated 600,000 Chinese visitors. Turkey plans 179 advertising campaigns across 39 countries and is promoting regions beyond its main tourist hub, Antalya.

🚨 Ávoris, managing the Imserso's tourism program in 2023/2024, delivered only 55.81% of its promised Canaries flight slots to pensioners, executing 45,208 out of 80,999 offered. In contrast, in the Balearic Islands, Ávoris surpassed its promise with 143,421 flights compared to the proposed 128,554. Overall, under lot 2 (insular coast trips), the company completed 188,629 air trips, falling short by 20,924 from the promised 209,553. Additionally, around two million hotel stays were in three-star accommodations, 35.27% of the total, rather than the pledged four-star establishments. The final execution of single-use double rooms was just 2.53%, or 142,955 out of the projected 5.6 million across three lots. Moreover, Ávoris inflated its transport offer, executing only 54.34% of proposed air and train slots under lot 1, and a mere 30.5% under lot 3.

✈ Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary announces delay of nine aircraft deliveries from Q3 to Q4 due to Boeing labor strikes, impacting the airline's growth target—reducing from 215 million to 210 million passengers by fiscal year 2026. The low-cost carrier experienced an 18% profit drop to €1.79 billion in the first half of the fiscal year, due to Boeing's delivery delays which also led to over 5 million passenger deficit in fiscal year 2025. Despite challenges, O’Leary highlights Ryanair's cost advantage with a debt-free fleet of 580 Boeing 737s.

🏖️ Albania's tourism growth skyrocketed by 55% year-to-date over the same period in 2023, making it the fastest-growing destination among medium or large economies. In September alone, Tirana's airport, the country's primary commercial hub, experienced a 47% increase, surpassing one million visitors. Wizz Air dominates with a 53% share, while Ryanair holds 22%. Albania is primarily a low-cost destination, with visitors commonly utilizing holiday homes for accommodation. By the year's end, excluding the last three months, Tirana airport had over eight million passengers, exceeding the previous year's total of seven million.

✈ Iberia resumed the Madrid-Tokyo route, operating the first flight with 352 passengers on board an Airbus A350. The connection is expected to contribute €100 million to the GDPs of Spain and Japan and create about 1,900 jobs in the first year. Flights will operate three times a week, offering 90,000 seats annually. The route, now the longest in Iberia's network at 14 hours eastbound and 16 hours westbound, bypasses Russian airspace, involving a double crew including four pilots and 10 cabin crew members. In 2023, Madrid hosted 51,741 Japanese travelers and 44,833 from January to August 2024, a 58.5% increase from the previous year. The direct flight aims to recover pre-pandemic Japanese tourism levels to Spain, currently at 62%.