Tendencias del mercado

🏝 The Caribbean is a popular winter getaway for American travelers, with Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, and the Mexican Caribbean poised to benefit. Mabrian's data indicates a surge in flight searches from the top 20 U.S. airports, accounting for 85% of the country's international air connectivity. For the period of November 2024 to February 2025, searches to Caribbean destinations increased: Costa Rica (+33%), Puerto Rico (+9%), and the Mexican Caribbean (+6%). Last year, 16.3 million U.S. tourists visited the Caribbean, up by 12.7%, contributing to the region's 32.2 million international travelers in 2023.

✈ ITA Airways, formerly Alitalia, targets profit in 2024 for the first time in Italian aviation history and plans to resurrect the Alitalia brand on existing aircraft. In 2023, ITA transported 15 million passengers, generated €2.1 billion from passenger revenue, and €300 million from cargo. EBITDA for the first half of the year was positive at €62 million. The airline, which has not detailed net profitability, is seeking a loan to purchase its first owned aircraft, an A330, and expects to reach 30 million passengers by 2025. ITA owns the Alitalia brand and will use "Inspired by Alitalia" alongside its name.

🎬 40% of Spaniards are drawn to film tourism, willing to pay more for such experiences, as per 'España de película: tendencias del turismo cinematográfico' report by The Travelling Set using Netquest research. Daily consumers of visual content are likelier to travel to filming locations. 10% have already planned trips, mostly young men (14.1%) versus women (9.4%). Under-35s represent 26.9% of film-inspired travelers. Madrid (28.1%) and Almería (22.6%) are top destinations; 25.6% have participated abroad, with 49.4% opting for self-guided tours. 38% learned of locations through friends, favoring official tourism websites (52.8%) for future travel planning.

🏩 ITA Airways, soon joining Lufthansa Group, reported a first-semester EBITDA of €62 million, a €130 million improvement from last year, with cash reserves slightly up to €393 million, €31 million more than the previous year. Boosted by a 26% surge in passenger traffic to 8.3 million, the airline saw a 33% revenue increase, totaling €1,400 million. Occupancy rates hit 79%, up by 2 percentage points. Anticipating annual sales of €2,700 million, Chief Financial Officer Claudio Faggiani announced the doubling of investment plans, while Milan becomes central to ITA's strategy, with new 540 square-meter offices and a revamped VIP lounge at Milan Linate Airport for up to 400 daily passengers. ITA Airways, also known as "inspired by Alitalia", will maintain its unique identity established since October 15, 2021.

🚂 Ouigo reduces capacity by 11.7% in Madrid-Barcelona corridor, offering 662,209 seats in Q2. Renfe grows by 2.2% with 2.1 million seats, while Iryo's seats decrease by 4.2%, totaling 1 million from April to June. Ouigo's traveler numbers drop 15.3% to 629,346, Renfe's AVE and Avlo reach 2.3 million passengers, up by 12.7%, and Iryo sees a 6.6% increase to 923,250 travelers. Market shares: Renfe at 59.9%, Iryo 23.8%, Ouigo 16.2%. Average fares: Ouigo €42.22 (+5.7%), Avlo €45.35 (-3.4%), Iryo €45.74 (+5.9%), AVE €65.37 (-3.4%).

🏖️ In the summer of 2024, the German market saw a record in all-inclusive bookings, with 55% of German tourists choosing this option. Turkey was the top destination, attracting 40% of all-inclusive reservations and seeing a 48% increase in German visitors from the previous summer. Long-distance travel reservations increased by 37%, reaching 12% of total bookings. The average booking was made 127 days in advance, 5 days more than in 2023. Families traveling increased by 36%, and bookings in five-star hotels rose to 30% of tourists. Dertour anticipates these trends to continue into 2025.

🏖️ Spanish tour operators ended summer with a positive balance despite a slowdown in demand due to inflation and declining savings among many families. Key industry executives made a generally positive assessment of the summer season, with Mapa Group's General Director Alberto Díaz noting higher billing than profitability. Europamundo CEO Alejandro de la Osa reported a solid balance in sales. However, the overall profitability of wholesalers was reduced due to inflation, with a significant effort required to confront it. The industry is cautiously optimistic about the final quarter sales, bouncing back to previous year levels in September after disappointing July and August.

🏖️ ABTA's Travel Confidence Index shows UK public confidence in international travel at +47, up six points from last year. Travelers booking with professionals scored +72, and package holiday bookings scored +74. Confidence among families and 25-34 year-olds remains strong at +62 and +60 respectively, while a significant increase was noted among 45-54 year-olds with a +16 point rise. However, confidence among those over 65 fell from +33 to +26. The report underscores the need for support in obtaining correct travel documents, with 71% considering it essential. Upcoming EU entry requirements include EES in November and ETIAS in the first half of 2025. The full report will be presented at ABTA's Convention in Greece in October.

💡 BBVA Research reports climate change by the end of the century could shift tourism from southern to northern coastal provinces in Spain due to a severe global warming scenario projecting a 4.8 ºC temperature rise, resulting in a 7% drop in tourism demand by 2100 compared to 2024-2030. The Mediterranean coast and Balearic Islands may see a 60% summer demand decrease with partial autumn recovery. Climate change challenges Spain's tourism sector, which contributes 11.6% to the GDP and accounted for 9.3% of total employment in 2022. Urban areas seem unaffected, while coastal zones, especially the Mediterranean and islands, are most sensitive to climate impacts. A zero net emissions scenario forecasts a minimal 0.3% demand decrease by 2100. In a low to moderate CO2 emissions future, resembling a 2.8 ºC temperature increase, a small net tourism reduction of 0.6% is expected, with notable provincial differences, potentially benefiting northern provinces like Asturias, predicted to see nearly a 7% increase in tourism demand.

🛈 Journalists from "Preferente" reported throughout the prolonged pandemic, predicting a transformative impact on tourism due to millions confined at home. Contrary to expert forecasts suggesting a dramatic change, the reality post-Covid saw an increase in travel and demand, essentially contradicting expectations of a downturn in tourism. Despite the challenges in predicting the pandemic's effects, the outcome has been a sharp rebound, surpassing the pre-pandemic situation of 2019.