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🏖 On January 23, 2025, in Madrid, the VIII edition of the AMT Smart Destinations Awards was presented at the FITURTECHY forum, part of the International Tourism Trade Fair (Fitur). Winners included Ok Located, Freeplantour, Barceló Hotel Group, Murmuration, and the City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. These awards, given by the Tourist Municipalities' Alliance (AMT) and the Hotel Technological Institute (ITH), honor technological solutions aiding in the transformation into Smart Tourist Destinations (DTI). Categories encompassed destination management, tourist interaction, environmental sustainability, and marketing promotion. The new 'Innovative Destination Project' category was won by Las Palmas de Gran Canaria's DataLAB project. The jury consisted of representatives from AMT, ITH, SEGITTUR, Invattur, and Fitur, and recognized finalists in each category. The AMT was founded in 2017 by eight pioneering Spanish tourist destinations, focusing on finance, digitalization, sustainability, accessibility, and cooperation among destinations.

🏠 Jordi Hereu, Spanish Minister of Industry and Tourism, inaugurated FITURTECHY on January 23, 2025, in Madrid, highlighting sustainability challenges for a country receiving 94 million tourists. Jorge Marichal, President of CEHAT, emphasized the need for a State Housing Pact to support sector growth and talent management in the service-intensive industry. Discussions at FITURTECHY25 included the transformative power of AI in tourism, energy management, water savings, and tackling food waste, with the hotel sector accounting for 14% of Spain's food waste. The event featured debates on urban services to attract talent, blue tourism, destination management, digital challenges, and training in the era of tourism intelligence. The day concluded with awards for transformative and sustainable tourism initiatives.

🏨 Meliá Hotels International, Spain's leading hotel chain, plans over €525 million in Ebitda by 2024 and to open at least 25 hotels in 2025. The luxury brand hotels contribute 40% of the operational contribution, with RevPAR increasing over 30%. Meliá operates in 13 of the world’s most visited 15 countries, and 64% of its portfolio is in the premium and luxury segments. New developments include ME Málaga, Meliá Collection Ronda, and Meliá Collection Cádiz, opening in 2025 and 2026. Expansion continues in the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific, with noteworthy openings like Meliá Amilla Fushi in the Maldives for 2025 and Meliá Mahe in Seychelles for 2026. The chain has repurposed 40 hotels with more than €400 million invested, including the anticipated Paradisus Fuerteventura and Paradisus Bali in 2025.

🏠 45ª Feria Internacional de Turismo (FITUR) started on January 22 in Ifema Madrid, to run until January 26, with over 250,000 expected attendees, 150,000 professionals, 100,000 general visitors, and 9,500 companies from 156 countries. Economic impact projected at 445 million euros in Madrid. World2Meet (W2M) announced first positive EBITDA (17-20 million euros) at the end of 2024, with a turnover of 3.196 billion euros expected in 2025. Illes Balears mobilized a historic 1.120 billion euros for sustainable tourism. CaixaBank awarded the "Premios Hotels & Tourism." Meliá Hotels International anticipates surpassing 106,000 rooms by 2025. Booking highlighted the support of 1,000 SME accommodations in Spain, reaching a combined turnover of one million euros.

🏨 Hotelverse, a tech platform for room booking with digital twins, sees 20% of hotel website bookings using its room selection feature, yielding an average extra income of €69 per reservation. Over 60 international hotel chains, including Radisson, Iberostar, and Hyatt, have adopted this tech. Enhanced web interaction time has increased by 103%, and conversion rates have improved by over 15%. In 2023, Hotelverse raised €5 million and aims for expansion by 2025, with over three million daily digital twin views.

🏨 Grupo Barceló, in 2024, surpassed €6.5 billion in turnover with an Ebitda of €500 million, and aims to reinvest positive results to avoid debt. Barceló Hotel Group, part of the conglomerate, accounted for €2.1 billion of the revenue. Post-9/11 strategic shift prioritizes security over risk, allowing aggressive project planning due to a strong financial stance. The company plans to spend €400 million in 2024 for hotel acquisitions, renovations, and repositioning, focusing on organic growth, selective expansion in America, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and the Indian Ocean, avoiding overpriced markets like the Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Madrid, and Barcelona. In Spain, Mexico, and Morocco, where Barceló has a significant presence, they plan to double their portfolio.

🏖️ Madrid hosts FITURTECHY 2025 from January 22 to 24, organized by ITH and FITUR, emphasizing tech, sustainability, and business in tourism. Key speakers include Jorge Marichal (CEHAT) and Óscar Perelli (EXCELTUR), advocating for a State Pact to address the sector's challenges. Discussions focus on investment funds, Next Generation Funds for tourism projects, and the current state of the industry, including tourist housing, its GDP impact, and talent retention. The event also features debates on smart mobility, digital transformation, and AI's role in tourism, culminating in recognitions for influential professionals and the VIII Edition of the FITUR-Intermundial Seguros Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Award.

🎫 Gabriel Escarrer Jaume, CEO of Meliá Hotels International, praised Grupo Preferente's defense of tourism and thanked the tribute to his late father, Gabriel Escarrer Juliá, at Fitur's traditional award ceremony. A 'Oscar' like artwork by Joan Ramis Sineu, signed by friends and colleagues from the tourism sector, was presented. Around 400 attendees gathered for the event, highlighted by the President of the Balearic Islands, Marga Prohens, who commended Grupo Preferente's unwavering support and defense of tourism with excellence.

🏕 The 45th edition of Fitur starts today, with the tourism sector on the rebound post-pandemic with strong recovery. At Ifema's exhibition halls, where the event takes place, major Spanish tourism companies have launched their stands featuring innovative designs. Fitur expects over 250,000 visitors, with 9,500 companies, 884 exhibitors, and representatives from 156 countries participating in the five-day event.

🏕 The report "Contribución del turismo al desarrollo territorial en España" by Competur was presented yesterday, revealing tourism's positive correlation with public services and population retention, especially in rural Spain. About 5 million Spanish workers are employed in tourism-related sectors, nearly 25% of Spain's total employment. A thousand tourists in Spain create an average of 3.3 hospitality jobs, 0.4 in restaurants, 0.5 in travel agencies, and 4.9 in rental and transport. Municipalities gain €0.58 per capita in revenue and spend €0.56 per capita per thousand tourists. Spain has 1,300 municipalities without bars/restaurants and 2,700 with just one. Tourism supports educational centers, pharmacies, and bank branches in rural areas, reducing the risk of depopulation.