Top News

🏨 Accor celebrates an exceptional 2024, surpassing projections with double-digit growth for a second historic year across all hotel markets in Spain. Despite expectations of softer growth in other European countries, Spain is set to break another record. Investment in Spanish hotels has soared, becoming an established asset class, accounting for more than 5% of diversified investment portfolios. Accor has signed the SLS Madrid, planning more in Costa del Sol and Barcelona. The trend leans towards luxury and economy segments; luxury thrives due to limited supply, whilst economy benefits from professional, reliable operators. Accor's goal is to expand in vacation segments, leveraging Spain's 65% vacation-oriented hotel offer. Current Spanish projects include 12 economy and one midscale hotel, with Novotel Valencia opening by year-end. Accor aims to introduce new brands like Tribe and Swissôtel to Spain, targeting top capitals and vacation destinations.

🏃 Senderismo, popular en España por su geografía diversa, es ideal en otoño por climas agradables y paisajes coloridos. España cuenta con más de 60 parques naturales. Civitatis recomienda diez rutas otoñales, entre ellas: Ruta del Valle de Ordesa (17 km, nivel medio-alto), Parque Natural de las Hoces del Duratón (20 km), Caminito del Rey (7,7 km, reservar con antelación), Caldera de Taburiente (16 km, La Palma, Canarias), Ruta del Flysch (10 km, Guipúzcoa), Ruta de las Xanas (8 km, Asturias), Montseny (14 km, ascensión al Turó de l'Home, 1.706 m), Cañón del Río Lobos (25 km, Soria y Burgos), Ruta del Cares (12 km, Asturias y León), y Senda del Oso (30 km, Asturias). Otoño ofrece temperaturas moderadas y menor afluencia de turistas.

✈ According to "Horizontes de Skyscanner" report, 80% of global travelers plan more vacations by 2025, with tourists from Brazil, India, UAE, and Saudi Arabia likely to travel and spend more. The study by the flight and hotel search platform Skyscanner, which surveyed 19,000 consumers in 16 markets, reveals 70% expect to spend the same or more on flights, 68% on accommodation, and 46% on car rentals. Enhanced travel experiences are a trend, with 35% selecting better flight seats and 29% upgrading hotel rooms. Nearly half of global travelers (47%) trust artificial intelligence for vacation planning, with 26% seeking less-visited destinations for safety and community impact. Social media (48%), recommendations (44%), and media (35%) are the top travel inspirations.

📈 FMI forecasts 0.8% economic growth for Eurozone and 2.9% for Spain in 2024. Internal European flight bookings have dropped by 26%, whereas intra-European bookings fell by 5%. High-end and luxury hotel prices increased by 1.7% and 1.4%, respectively, while budget accommodations remain stable. Travelers are opting for road trips over flights, with a shift towards distant destinations like Asia (+14%), Latin America (+3%), and certain Middle East and Africa regions (+3%). Internal travel in Italy and Spain is declining, yet international travel from these countries is up by 13% and 11%, respectively. Alpine hotel bookings in Germany and Switzerland are up by 20% and 42%, while those in U.S. and Canadian ski resorts are down between 9%-18%. Japan has emerged as a trendy ski destination with a 417% increase in hotel bookings.

🏖️ Tourism Innovation Summit (TIS) 2024 awarded the Tourism Innovation Awards to six projects out of 140 candidates for innovations in tourism. Hotelverse won for customer experience, Ilunion Hotels for AI and data, Segittur for digital innovation, Singular Places for sustainable travel, Invisible Cities for diversity and inclusion, and SwiftON for sustainable leadership. The awards recognize advances in user experience, technological solutions, and sustainable practices in the tourism industry.

🏨 In Houston, TX, on October 21, 2024, SHR, a hospitality tech firm, partners with Portugal's Host Hotel Systems to market a complete toolset in prime tourist locations worldwide. Focusing on business development in Spain, Latin America, and Portugal, the strategic partnership aims to enhance market share more rapidly. Their collaboration will debut at the Tourism Innovation Summit in Sevilla from October 23-25, 2024. Integration of SHR's revenue management system (RMS), central reservation system (CRS), internet booking engine (IBE), and digital marketing tools with Host's PMS and channel manager addresses fragmented tech stacks and poor APIs plaguing the industry. Hotels using both platforms benefit from centralized onboarding, customer service, and account management, seamless data flow, and improved PMS-CRM integration.

🏖️ In Madrid, the 8th AMT Smart Destinations Awards open for entries until November 21, 2024, recognizing technological contributions to smart tourist destinations. New category 'Innovative Destination Project' added for FITUR 2025, held January 22-26 at IFEMA MADRID. Finalists to present at techYdestino forum, with awards on January 23, 2025, at 16:00. Public and private sector candidates eligible for five categories, private companies excluded from the new category. Finalists announced January 9, 2025, will be included in an online catalog. A €5,500 grant from mentorDay's acceleration program is available. Previous winners include Fiwoo, We Travel Hub, Boldest, and Weavair.

🏖 Malta reached 3 million tourists in 2023, with predictions to surpass 3.5 million. The Tourism Authority of Malta, led by Claudio Micallef, has canceled summer promotions due to constant full capacity and shifts focus to filling rooms in winter, aiming for November and December. An increase of 25% in tourist numbers was seen in the last two months of the previous year, thanks to a winter promotion plan. Sustainable tourism is promoted by spreading tourists throughout the year and using sports as a promotional tool in the off-peak seasons.

🏥 Hosteltur, a tourism news outlet, received the "Premio al Medio de Comunicación del Año" from CIDH during its 30th anniversary for its role in disseminating key information for the tourism industry. The award ceremony took place at Taberna del Alabardero, attended by over 70 notable figures in the global tourism and hotel sector. CIDH, with a presence in 67 countries and over 38,472 industry executives, also celebrated the addition of 15 new ambassadors, 17 corporate partners, and 300 new members this year. Other awardees included Grupo Pilsa, UNICEF, and Marta García-Valdecasas. The CIDH International Congress was held from October 23-24 in Seville at the Tourism Innovation Summit (TIS), focusing on innovation and leadership in the hospitality industry.

🌱 ASHOME signed a collaboration agreement with Bioscore on October 23, 2024, in Maó, Menorca. The partnership aims to enhance sustainability in the island's hotel industry by providing member hotels with preferential rates for Bioscore's sustainability certification and specialized advice on circularity plans. The benefits include access to sustainability tools, training, and increased visibility on travel platforms like Booking.com, Google Travel, and Expedia. The initiative supports compliance with environmental regulations and positions Menorca as a leading sustainable tourist destination.