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🛫 Pymes turísticas en España solicitaron prórroga al Gobierno ante retrasos en pagos de ayudas de digitalización “Última Milla”. Convocatoria cerró el 13 de marzo de 2024, con ejecución previa al 31 de marzo de 2025; única prórroga hasta el 30 de junio de 2025. Ministerio de Turismo inició pagos parciales en abril siguiente al cierre, pero empresas aún sin financiación. Pendientes de hasta 300,000 euros causan problemas de tesorería. Sector urge extensión de plazo y agilización de pagos para evitar paralización de proyectos y pérdida de competitividad.

🏢 In 2024, Madrid hosted 54,784 MICE events (+2.3% from the previous year), with 2.58 million attendees (+2.28%), generating an economic impact of €5.674 billion (+8.3% from 2023). The average stay for national MICE tourists was 2.8 days (+28.6% from 2023), and for international tourists, it was 4.5 days (+2.22% from 2023). Almudena Maíllo presided over Madrid Convention Bureau's assembly, which introduced a new board for 2025-2027, focusing on sectors like fintech and e-health.

🏨 Andalucía and Cataluña each have approximately 121,000 hotel rooms, the highest in Spain. In 2024, Spain had an average of 14,613 hotel establishments with about 743,000 rooms and a 61.4% occupancy rate. Baleares and Canarias topped the efficiency chart with close to 75% occupancy. Baleares had a 77.05% occupancy rate, followed by Canarias at 74.23%. Castilla-La Mancha recorded the lowest occupancy at 35.47%.

🏖️ Govern balear will pass a decree on Friday preventing the creation of new tourist rental spaces in multi-family buildings throughout the archipelago. Marga Prohens announced the measure in October, aiming to regulate tourism in high-pressure areas. It won't affect semi-detached houses, paired homes, or rooms rented in the host's main residence. The decree will also unlock about 90,000 old tourist places previously irregular and non-reusable under the old law. Two temporary pools of tourist places per island will be created for hotels and holiday rentals, valid until each insular council determines its tourist carrying capacity, with no initial deadline of 2026. New establishments can buy tourist places without the former two-for-one penalty. Hoteliers criticize these measures as insufficient, with some preferring a model like Catalonia's, where tourist places expire with activity permits.

🏖️ Booking.com reports a surge in Spanish traveler interest for Easter 2025, comparing searches from March 7-14 for stays between April 17-21 to the same period in 2024. Top domestic destinations include Madrid (+74%), Sevilla (+129%), and Salou with the highest increase (+772%). Andalusia has four cities in the top 10, while coastal areas and cities like Bilbao (+277%) show significant growth. International destinations see Portugal leading, with Oporto (+346%) and Lisbon (+283%) at the top, joined by other European capitals. Flight searches from February 1 to March 15, 2025, also increased notably, except for Madrid (-9%). Popular destinations favor sunny locales like Gran Canaria (+41%) and emerging international spots such as Istanbul (+108%). Booking.com expresses optimism for Easter travels in 2025, with 57% of Spaniards rating local tourism highly.

🏖 Cataluña manages €206 million from Next Generation EU funds for 55 tourism sustainability plans, with a 48.3% execution rate as of now, exceeding EU requirements. Maximum execution deadline is mid-2026. Over €340 million invested in 227 tourism projects for digitalization, sustainability, and heritage in recent years. Miquel Sàmper and Jordi Hereu discussed the plans on April 3, focusing on climate change, efficiency, and green transition in tourism. Projects range from Amposta's sustainability to "Cataluña, tierra de sabores" for destination cohesion.

???? 🏨 Javier Sancho, CCO at ACHM Hotels by Marriott, manages 75 hotels with over 8,000 rooms. ACHM, a joint venture created in 2011 by Antonio Catalán and Marriott, is more than the AC brand, encompassing seven Marriott brands, including JW Marriott in Madrid and Westin Cuzco. Sancho's career spans over 30 years, including international roles at Accor and Hilton. Drawing on his psychology background, he leads with empathy and aims for human-centric management. ACHM Hotels aims to double its portfolio in the next five years, with nearly 25 projects already slated for completion between 2025 and 2027.

🍴 The Asociación Empresarial Hotelera de Madrid joined CEHAT and Hostelería de España in requesting a clearer food waste prevention law from the government, following its approval without details on March 20. The new law imposes measures like mandatory food excess donations by hospitality establishments. The sector, with over 350,000 businesses (90% being SMEs), awaits regulations impacting their daily operations and legal responsibilities. Essential amendment proposals include flexible priority hierarchy, relaxed donation agreements, limited traceability, exoneration post-donation, and gradual sanctions. So far, no clear political response has been received.

📈 Mirai's analysis shows Spain's Easter Week 2025 witnessed a significant growth in tourism, with a 26% increase in nights sold for coastal areas and a 47% surge for the islands compared to the previous year. France (+109%), the UK (+43%), and the USA (+28%) propelled international tourism. Notable rises in nights sold include Mallorca (+94%), Gran Canaria (+55%), and San Sebastián (+39%). The average daily rate (ADR) climbed by 8%, with Costa del Sol and Fuerteventura leading at +26%. Reservation anticipation grew, especially for Mallorca and Costa Barcelona (+28%). The analysis examined stays from April 11 to April 23, 2025, compared to March 22 to April 3, 2024, and reservation periods from January 1, 2024, to April 3, 2025, versus December 12, 2022, to March 14, 2024.