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🚍 Grupo Julià and Moventis, forming a temporary joint venture (UTE), won the bid to manage Barcelona's tourist bus service for 12 years, awarded by Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona (AMB) after a March tender. Investing €42 million initially, they will introduce 44 electric buses, reducing CO2 emissions by 1,600 tons/year, each bus accommodating 82 passengers and featuring advanced technology, including surveillance systems, 16-language audioguides, WiFi, and USB connectors. Renewable energy infrastructure, like an electric substation, chargers, and solar panels, will support 100% green-energy operation. The service offers four routes—two permanent (Orange and Green) and two seasonal (Night and Christmas Lights)—and includes an annual fixed fee to AMB of €3.85 million plus 16.14% of the service's turnover. At contract end, the buses become AMB's property.

🏖️ In the Costa del Sol, more than 30% of travelers spend between 1,000 and 3,000 euros for active tourism, involving physical and adventure activities. The region boasts over twenty protected natural spaces, wellness tourism with hotels offering mindfulness activities, and a sustainability focus with beach cleaning initiatives and a CO2 footprint compensation program. Local gastronomy shines with 8 Michelin-starred restaurants focusing on seasonal, local produce, contributing to biodiversity conservation.

📊 Google's free booking links, introduced in 2021, added a new organic placement below paid ads in Google Hotel Ads. While data for the top three funnel levels (opportunities, participated opportunities, and eligible impressions) is not available, impressions and clicks data for free booking links is provided by Google. Paid ads display exact impression numbers, while free booking links have rounded data. Click data is precise for both. Conversion data is only available for paid campaigns, not free booking links, though some connectivity partners provide this information. Data can be viewed in Google's Hotel Center and in Google Ads, with APIs available for data processing. 📊

📓 Travel agencies, hotels, campsites, car rental companies, and accommodation apps have received a brief respite due to technical reasons facilitating data interconnection and transmission, not officially due to pressure from industry bodies. The government, led by Fernando Grande-Marlaska, will meet with the affected sector, with a speculated date of October 4th. The sector's spokespersons argue against the costs, administrative burden, and technical impossibility of compliance with Royal Decree 933/2021, emphasizing the negative impact of the new activation date, coinciding with the Christmas campaign and important December holidays. They stress the unnecessary data duplication and disproportionate data requirements, which disadvantage travel agencies competitively and impose technological developments unfeasible for many businesses, potentially threatening their viability and employment.

🏨 The Spanish Interior Ministry has succumbed to significant pressure from both national and international tourism sectors, delaying the implementation of the controversial decree 933/2021, which mandates extensive documentation for hotels and agencies. The CEOE is awaiting official confirmation and seeks meetings with the Ministries of Tourism and Interior. Originally set to commence on October 1st, the decree's suspension brings considerable relief to an industry advocating against its "impossible compliance.

🏨 In August, Spanish hotels set a record with 47.8 million overnight stays, a 2.6% increase from the same month in 2023. Non-residents boosted stays by 4.9%, despite a 1.3% drop from residents. From January to August, stays grew by 5.6% year-on-year. Top destinations included Andalucía (23.1% of resident stays), Catalonia, and the Valencian Community for residents, while non-residents preferred the Balearic Islands (34.1%), Catalonia, and the Canary Islands. Mallorca led with over 8.5 million overnight stays. Hotel occupancy rose by 1.9% to 76%, with the Balearic Islands reaching 89.9%. Average Daily Rate (ADR) was €146.9, up 7.3%, and Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) increased by 8.6% to €117.4.

📦 Mirai integrates with Omnibees channel manager, allowing inventory, pricing, and booking restrictions management directly from Omnibees. Users can receive reservations in their PMS via Omnibees' two-way integration. No initial or monthly fees are charged by Mirai for this integration. Omnibees' API offers faster processing, enhanced data security, error control, scalability, and reliability. Omnibees serves 7,500+ global clients, integrating with over 1,600 channels and numerous PMS systems, and offers a platform for 450+ Tour Operators, OTAs, GDS, and more.

🏨 Javier Hernández, executive vice president of Aehcos, highlighted that over 68% of Málaga's accommodations are tourist homes, affecting Marbella, Málaga city, and Benalmádena. Summer 2024 occupancy was 88.77%, with July at 86.66% and August at 90.89%, exceeding 2023 by two percentage points. Domestic tourism increased from 30% to 40% in August. Despite inflation, August hotel revenues were €8 below 2023. September 2024 expects 88.74% occupancy, improvement over 86.75% in 2023.

🏖️ En 2023, España batió récord con más de 85 millones de turistas, superando las cifras de 2019. Proyecciones para 2024 indican que podría haber un aumento del 12% para este año, lo que implicaría 10 millones de turistas adicionales. Expertos, en la jornada de WTW sobre Gestión de Riesgos en el Sector Turístico, identifican la captación de talento y la sostenibilidad como desafíos clave. Las empresas de turismo están adoptando prácticas de ESG para mejorar reputación y competitividad, mientras buscan estrategias para atraer y retener personal en un mercado laboral en transformación.

🏠 España se destaca como destino para turismo de lujo. Sandra Andújar, presidenta de Elite Excellence, señaló en Overbooking Gran Canaria & Hosteltur Summit 2024 que el lujo responde a deseos, no necesidades. Desde 2023, experiencias superan en consumo a productos, y tendencias incluyen privacidad, exclusividad y personalización. Turistas de lujo en España gastan cuatro veces más y generan el doble de empleo que viajeros convencionales. Sostenibilidad gana importancia: certificaciones pueden aumentar ventas en un 5% y satisfacción del cliente en un 15%.