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🌌 69% of Spaniards plan to explore dark-sky destinations for astronomy experiences in 2025, with 79% interested in stargazing baths. 66% want to witness unique cosmic events, 62% aim to increase night activities to escape high daytime temperatures, and 63% are concerned about UV protection. 66% would pay more for advanced therapy-focused holidays, with 72% incorporating new wellness activities into daily life. 63% are keen on AI for personalized travel itineraries, with 70% using AI to find less crowded areas. Half of Spaniards prefer a trip of a lifetime over leaving an inheritance, and intergenerational travel support is on the rise due to the cost of living crisis. 45% encourage wellness-focused trips for men. Baby boomers show a 10% increase in comfort-zone-breaking adventures. 51% of neurodivergent travelers demand better inclusion, with 69% wanting sensory rooms. 57% plan to buy clothes on vacation, with 51% interested in second-hand stores; 72% have purchased vintage items abroad. 24% choose airports based on onsite experiences, with 50% wanting diverse airport services. According to Booking.com, travel trends for 2025 emphasize personal transformation and deeper world connections.

📌 Viajes El Corte Inglés (VECI), after a decade of transformation, now boasts over a dozen subsidiaries. It started with Club de Vacaciones in 2015, followed by Tourmundial and Utópica Travel in 2018. In 2021, VECI integrated Logitravel and its related brands, approved by the CNMC in October. Recent additions include Baluma, Passengy, Holiday Clubs, and Muchosol. In 2023, VECI's revenue hit a record €3.305.9 million, a 12.6% increase from €2.935 million in 2022 and 21% more than the pre-Covid figure of €2.731 million in 2019. Profits soared to €49.6 million, quadrupling from €12.2 million in 2022.

🏨 Riu Hotels & Resorts led Spanish hotel chains in 2023 with €3.607 billion in revenue and 49,879 rooms, achieving a TrevPAR of €72,315. Meliá Hotels International followed with €2.935 billion and 91,490 rooms (TrevPAR: €32,080), and Barceló Hotel Group with €2.917 billion and 61,996 rooms (TrevPAR: €47,068). The TrevPAR metric includes all hotel revenue sources and confirms a V-shaped recovery post-pandemic. More TrevPAR evolution data to be published by HOSTELTUR soon.

🏖️ Hosteltur's Urban Tourism Conference, backed by the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria City Council and Turismo LPA, is scheduled online for November 21, from 10:30 to 12:40. The event, themed around the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in urban tourism management, features 15 experts including representatives from Riu Hotels & Resorts, W2M, Civitatis, Sercotel, Simpleview, Casual, and VisitBenidorm. Speakers include Pedro Quevedo, Joan Barceló, Esperanza Molina, Guido Schinocca, and Manuel Molina, with multiple sessions on AI applications and hotel chains' challenges with AI moderated by industry professionals.

✈ On October 11, at 6 PM in Palma at Son Sant Joan Airport, Netjets Europe's Embraer Phenom 300 (CS-PHG) landed on runway 24 as a Vueling Airbus A320 (EC MGE) entered the same runway for landing, briefly sharing the runway. Spain's CIAIAC is investigating this breach of safety norms to identify errors and prevent recurrence. Such incidents, though common in busy European airports and under specific conditions in the US, are not allowed in Spain.

💸 Effective immediately, the EU's regulations are applied to Booking, the dominant force in global hotel intermediation. Six months ago, the EU branded Booking's market position as monopolistic, necessitating platform openness and altered hotel relations. Hotels are no longer required to offer Booking the best price, potentially leading to better deals elsewhere, challenging Booking's advantage despite its vast customer data and predictive abilities. Now, competition must prove they can entice customers with compelling offerings.

✈ Madrid's Barajas Airport reopens all four runways after a 44-day closure due to renovations on runway 32L/14R that started on October 2 and were scheduled to end on November 12, but only concluded on November 15. The closure caused significant workload increases for air traffic controllers, who managed fluctuating configurations to balance takeoffs and landings.

📘 Tarragona hoteliers seek sustainability and decarbonization solutions at the "ITH Hotel Energy Meetings" event held on November 14, 2024, at Hotel Sol Port in Cambrils. The meeting, organized by the Instituto Tecnológico Hotelero (ITH) and the Asociación Hotelera Costa Daurada y Terres de l’Ebre, was part of a series that began in October in Castellón, spanning six tourist destinations. It aimed to present the latest energy-saving and decarbonization technologies to industry specialists. ITH's program ITHSaveHotel offers personalized technical advice to improve energy efficiency, supported by the Secretary of State for Tourism. Experts from Bosch, Daikin, Sulion, Italsan, Repsol, Remica, and Rabmer discussed heating, cooling, water systems, and energy management, with a focus on sustainable tourism and efficient resource management.

📈 Analysis of Spanish hotels' pricing strategies by Mirai revealed a reverse revenue strategy during high season, with last-minute ADR (Average Daily Rate) reductions up to -8% for vacation hotels and -18% for urban hotels. Vacation hotels experienced high season in June-August, excluding Canaries, while urban hotels peaked in April-June, including Canaries. Last-minute bookings accounted for 20% of vacation hotel reservations and 25% for urban hotels, eroding ADR. The only exception was urban hotels in the Valencian Community, which achieved incremental revenue. The study emphasizes the importance of monitoring various performance indicators and strategies to enhance ADR growth.

🚲 In Madrid, on November 13, 2024, the Instituto Tecnológico Hotelero (ITH) partnered with TECO MOBILITY to provide ITH members with the "Tap & Rent, no App!" technology solution for hotels. The system allows hotel guests to autonomously rent electric bicycles in just 2 seconds, without staff assistance, data registration, or the need for a mobile app, reducing CO2 footprints. TECO MOBILITY's model includes a private corporate fleet of smart electric bikes connected via IoT, offering an economic return for hotels and contributing to their corporate social responsibility and brand positioning.