Revista Preferente Especial WTM 2011

November 2011

World Travel Market Special

Bubble danger: Websites' mega offers create uncertainty

SUMMARY

World Travel Market 2011 Special

6 Opinion: Gabriel Escarrer, founder and president of Meliá Hotels International and Miquel Fluxá, president of Iberostar 7 Tenerife leads the way for change 8 Thousands of hotels complain about TripAdvisor

‘To go’, Santo Domingo‘s new brand

19 The hotel industry loses 1.600 million euros through online attacks

http://www.preferente.com preferente@preferente.com

Published by: KBA, S. L. C/Francesc de Borja Moll, 18, entlo.

07003 Palma de Mallorca Islas Baleares (España) Publisher and Editor: RAFAEL CABALLERO Assistant Editor: Eduardo Suárez del Real Co-ordinator: Raúl Huerta Redaction: Natalia Blanes Rafa Fernández Carmen Bretón Manuel Suárez Javier Noguera Translation: Louise Davis Distribution: Analía Malagrino Karina González Pablo Fernández

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20 Stock drain of 28.000 million. The world‘s largest tourism groups have lost 27% of their capitalization

Interview with Stephen Kaufer, CEO and founder of TripAdvisor

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22 Record of tourists for Dominican Republic

10 ABTA 2011: more innovation and less tax 12 Bubble danger, a proliferation of websites advertising mega offers creates uncertainty in the industry 14 Calviá, so much more than sun and beach

Spain remains world leader in blue flags

Administration: Teresa Llabrés Advertising: Ana Gómez

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Cover: Gassimir M. Tarrassó

24 ‘Seniors’, the most wanted target

Printing, layout and design: Gráficas Planisi S.A

26 Twiddling the package: selling packages without flights, the latest attempt at gaining back clients from Internet

Emotional marketing: how to transform out hotel into a lovemark

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27 How to convert the client into our best consultant

Today, the tourism industry must react to the new habits of global travellers

Tourism can handle everything, even one of the biggest crises

Gabriel Escarrer, founder and president of Meliá Hotels International

By Miquel Fluxá, president of Iberostar Hotels & Resorts

into our uncontrolled territorial model, where Administrative bodies overlap in jurisdiction, regulations, taxes, and lose the synergies so necessary for selling once again the brandmark “SPAIN”.

Special mention must be made of our human resources: our competition lies to a large degree in improving both training and the social attitude towards the tourist; also linking our salaries to productivity, and above all, making our work market more flexible so that contracting is encouraged, rather than dismissals.

would be affected if they sold less packages in the different destinations.

In regard to online sales, the improvement in systems, the creation of specific departments for yield management and offers along with consumers’ trust in paying by credit card, have resulted in exponential increases in online sales. And there is something important to highlight -the incorporation of all generations in Internet. The young because of their training and the older generations because of their desire to be informed.

Uncertainty has been a factor we have all lived with over the past years due to the economic crisis, the doubts about the euro and the difficulties of certain countries, including the USA. It has been almost impossible to draw up a coherent budget and more difficult to prepare a 3 or 5 year plan.

To explain the significance of tourism in Spain over the last 20 years is no less than passionate: these past two decades have recorded rapid expansion, internationalization and consolidation of Spain’s strength through tourism, the same qualities that have made Spain a world brand reference.

Our industry’s somewhat irregular evolution however has made us prudent when making this evaluation: the exceptional growth of the industry spanning almost five decades was thwarted at the turn of this century when the gross tourism product began to lose position and produce less national wealth, in detriment to industries by all appearances more successful, such as the building sector. The confluence of the real estate bubble, the exhaustion of most of our classic destinations and the appearance of competitive destinations in countries emerging from underdevelopment, reminded us sharply that tourism, just like any other productive industry, requires investment, attention, and an efficient and committed administration.

Fortunately, most of the Spanish businessmen in the hospitality industry, particularly hoteliers, did their homework and took advantage of the growth years to innovate, to expand abroad and to diversify the business and the risk.

Today the tourism industry must react to the new habits of global travellers who search for experiences, quality and products that are both diverse and accessible to each segment, and to competition without frontiers. Our tourism industry can contribute like no other to the recovery of employment and the Spanish economy: this reinforces the social commitment of everyone, businessmen and Public Administration, to carry out the necessary structural reforms and to once again be competitive. The future of our tourism involves a return to the political priority it requires, call it Ministry or Secretary of State, and to introduce efficiency

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“Today the tourism industry must react to the new habits of global travellers who search for experiences” Finally, but no less important, the route map of our industry in order to lead in recovery must involve reinventing our offer in terms of excellence and sustainability: excellence because the times in which our country could compete in price with tourists wanting sea and sand disappeared with the appearance of the new holiday destinations in “emerging” countries such as Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia or Turkey….; nevertheless, against these destinations Spain maintains a positive difference in terms of safety, health, culture and heritage, wealth of gastronomy and leisure activities, which we should value to attract year round tourism through travellers interested in culture and with a higher spending power. And sustainable, because in Spain we need to renew obsolete or over-exploited destinations and apply our knowledge and experience to return them to their splendour.

According to a recent study, an important number of travellers declared that sustainability or eco-tourism are the main reasons behind their travel choice and there is no doubt that without sustainability no tourism is profitable in the mid-term.

preferente · World Travel Market · November 2011

The past 20 years have shown the hotel industry to be the sector that has best faced up to difficult times and the storms we have battled since 2008. The banks took many years to trust in the hotel industry. Over the sixties, when the development of our industry first commenced, buildings were constructed on land inherited from the family or purchased at a low price and with deposits from the tour operators avid to get beds in Spain due to such high demand.

The hotels built were simple three star properties, but with sufficient comforts, such as a bathroom in all rooms.

Up until the beginning of this century many hotels were built and in the nineties they were hotels of greater quality, mainly four star properties. Over those four decades demand continued and new competitors such as Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco or Egypt could not offer the same quality and service as Spain.

They did not have the infrastructure, hotel quality, service or hygiene.

One of the greatest events for the hotel industry was the global spread of the Spanish hotel chains (especially those of the Balearics).

Despite criticism by some political groups, who said we were investing our profit abroad, this helped to strengthen the hotel groups for they no longer had all their eggs in one basket and it also avoided building more hotels in our country which was already saturated. Imagine if these investments had been made in our country: our hotel offer would have been even more unbalanced.

There are also two phenomena to have influenced hotel marketing: the appearance of low cost airlines and the evolution of sales online. Large tour operators who had airline companies with low costs did not react in time when low cost carriers appeared as they feared their profit

“There are two phenomena to have influenced hotel marketing: the low cost airlines and the evolution of sales online” This year, tourism to Spain has increased because of the improvement in the German economy and the problems in the north of Africa.

I think we should take these opportunities to improve our quality –to face up to the closure or renovation of obsolete hotels, approving the Condotel, insisting in staff training and investing in order to increase our quality. Collaboration between businesses and the government is more important than ever if we are to achieve the bases of a more stable and successful future.

TENERIFE leads the way for change The island is currently updating its Tourism Strategy to maintain its market leadership as one of Britain’s favourite holiday destinations Carlos Alonso, Tourism Secretary of Cabildo de Tenerife in the tourist information office at Tenerife Sur’s airport.

highlight of these initiatives is the new Five Senses Footpath (Sendero de los Sentidos), an online communication platform for visitors linked to the tourist information office at Tenerife South airport. As well, there is a new set of tourist signposts being installed around the island, the revival of local culture and traditions as a tourist attraction and the island’s tourism model is being revamped.

Tenerife Acoge involves much, much more. For example, plenty of work is being done to raise the profile of whale watching, one of the top products that complements Tenerife’s traditional sun and sand and it is attracting more and more visitors. This is part of a blueprint for setting up an interpretation centre for these sea mammals.

In recent months, the Island has also been also working on enhancing its volcanic assets and very soon five themed routes will be launched so visitors can

Pilot Whales.

You only have to look at the figures to see that Tenerife is one of the favourite holiday destinations for Britons. Last year alone, over 1.4 million UK passengers headed for the island, while in the first eight months of 2011 the figures are already up 10 per cent on 2010. But it is no coincidence - the Island has worked hard in recent years to maintain its competitive edge by creating

new tourism products and continually renewing the destination. Now Tenerife is re-shaping its Tourism Strategy 20082015 aimed at consolidating its leadership in this market.

One of the most important tools that has helped to make the island a destination to watch, is the Tenerife Revitalization Plan “Tenerife Acoge”, featuring more than 200 projects developed since 2008 to stimulate and create new tourism products for the island with a total investment of 3.5 million Euros. A

In the first eight months of 2011 tourist arrivals from UK are already up 10 percent on 2010 enjoy Tenerife’s exceptional features, making it one of the few places in the world where you can see every possible volcanic process: craters, lava fields, volcanic sand beaches, volcanic tubes and Mount Teide.

These are just two new products in a wide range available on an island where British visitors can experience a feelgood cli-

mate and exceptional natural surroundings with the added bonus of traditions and gastronomy. Undeniable proof that Tenerife is one of the most popular destinations for Brits are the customer loyalty statistics: over 78 per cent repeat visitors.

The Island is well aware that all this must be reinforced by an ongoing renewal of the destination. A lot of hard work has been carried out jointly under the Regeneration Agreement, an initiative launched by Tenerife Tourism with the support of the Tenerife Government and the district councils of Arona, Adeje, Santiago del Teide and Puerto de la Cruz plus the hotel trade association Ashotel. Thanks to the Agreement, 65 million Euros have been invested in recent years in over 170 projects to improve beaches, promenades and gardens and pilot studies into comprehensive rehabilitation among others. It has been a welcome boost to the island’s competitive edge.

Although the work would not be complete without updating Tenerife’s Tourism Strategy 2008-2015. It is now vital to adapt the plan to both the changing economic and social situation and the new industry dynamics. Tenerife Tourism is currently implementing this change, with the active involvement and support of the tourism trade in a model of public-private partnership which can be exported to other destinations. Issues such as connectivity, promotional activities and innovation will be updated. It will be ready by early 2012 and will mark the way forward for Tenerife to maintain its leadership as a holiday destination in the coming years.

Teide.

November 2011 · World Travel Market · preferente

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Thousands of hotels complain about TripAdvisor The British Advertising Standards Authority opens an investigation after protests are received from 2.000 companies in the United Kingdom alone Pedro José Cacho

After receiving 2.000 complaints from hotels, KwikChex, an English online reputation services company, has managed for an investigation to be opened concerning TripAdvisor‘s claim that its website contains “criticism in which you can trust”.

In Spain, similar companies have assured Preferente that most of their hotelier clients also complain about the amount of false criticism posted about their establishments.

“Many of our hotelier clients have complained, and almost all have done so at least once”, confirmed one of the main businessmen dedicated to online reputation services, but who prefers to remain anonymous. The SecretaryGeneral of CEHAT, Ramón Estallela, emphasised, when speaking to this magazine, that among hoteliers there is “indignation and worry” regarding this matter.

TripAdvisor has now removed from its website the phrase “criticism in which you can trust”, just days after the British Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) opened an investigation upon observing that the claims that their criticism was “trustworthy” and “honest” contrasted with reality. The founder of TripAdvisor replied that the withdrawl of this slogan was not related to the investigation underway.

The owner of KwikChex, Chris Emmins, told Preferente that the withdrawal of “criticism in which you can trust” is insufficient, for the TripAdvisor website still includes the phrase “over 50 million honest holiday criticisms”. “They constantly emphasise that they take authenticity seri-

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ously, while they do not even check if the criticism has been written by the guests”, states Emmins.

“They also say that their filters are effective when in reality it appears just the opposite”, concludes the founder of KwikChex.

cism be true”, and in general he believes that “half could be false”. One hotel owner of a small chain was most surprised when his establishments received complaints written in perfect Spanish when practically all his clientele are foreign.

EPIDEMIC

THE DRAINS

Emmins, after having studied TripAdvisor for eight months, states that one single person published 127 false reports to test the viability of the system. Also, out of the 50 million published reports, half of them are over one year old, meaning they are somewhat “out of date”. And of those 25 million, he estimates as much as 20 percent could be false.

The person responsible for an online reputation company in Valencia who works for hotel clients stated to this magazine that “there are hotels where it is impossible that the criti-

The boom of TripAdvisor has given rise to a flood of online reputaion companies specialising in hotels. In their flyers they hardly ever mention the website but in private meetings they are quick to mention it and emphasise their ability to improve the popularity of the establishments on TripAdvisor, as has been observed by this magazine.

But to triumph on TripAdvisor is not only possible with the use of specialised companies, but also by hotel staff stimulating guests. Several clients state that bellboys and receptionists en-

The denouncer speaks Preferente interviews Chris Emmins, co-founder of KwikChex, whose denouncement has produced an investigation into TripAdvisor -How many of the 500.000 hotels registered on TripAdvisor do you think may have received false criticism?

-Probably most of them have had either false criticism posted or very distorted reports.

-What can TripAdvisor do to eradicate it?

-Many things. Firstly, erase the millions of old reports. Then make simple checks whenever anything suspicious arises. And also, allow verification to take place of clients’ stays and then give priority to them in the results.

-Are you planning further action against TripAdvisor?

-Yes, we are being encouraged to associate ourselves with legal firms around the world to take legal action in the different lawcourts in each country.

preferente · World Travel Market · November 2011

Experts and Cehat demand a check on whether the person writing has actually stayed at the hotel courage them “not to forget to write a good comment” on this website. And some of the large hotel chains, in particular one of the French chains, send e-mails to their clients asking them to send their comments to TripAdvisor, in the same way that the British Tourism Ofices also do. Clients are also aware of their new position of power. In private, certain guests threaten to write a bad report unless they are offered a discount or given a better room.

THE FILTERS

TripAdvisor maintains that “prior to publication the evaluations pass through an automatic system of filters which are constantly being perfected by a technical team”, and any of their 50 million visitors can report a comment if it is suspected to be false.

The English Sunday papers report that there are 30 establishments on the black list for writing their own good reports, and one New York company was fined over 200.000 euros in 2009 for the same thing. However, online reputation service companies declare that TripAdvisor does not have “a defined line” and “they say that they check but they do not say how, nor how many cases are detected”. Estalella requests that “they make sure they know that the person who is writing has actually

been staying at the hotel”, as does Emmins, who considers that they should confirm the clients’ stays, at least in some cases, and then their comments be given priority.

But online reputation experts consulted by Preferente believe that TripAdvisor will never make such checks.

“By filtering they would never have got to where they are now”, he states.

Emmins shares this view. “They seem more interested in the volume of comments than in their precision” he alleges, and he justifies this by saying they have “30 million outdated comments which are of no value to the reader”.

CONSEQUENCES

The fact that anyone can write a comment, whether they have been in a hotel or not affects the industry in different ways. Online reputation experts explain that refurbishments in small hotels have less effect. “In Peñíscola a hotelier has renovated the entire establishment and despite this he has been unable to fill it this summer”.

Likewise, mass tourism destinations with a great concentration of hotels, can also be affected. Resorts such as Benidorm and Playa de Palma, for example, for when there is more competition there is a greater possibil-

X-ray

• Present in 30 countries and in 21 languages. Plans to expand in South America where at the moment it only operaties in Mexico and Argentina.

• 50 million individual visitors per month, 2.2 million in Spain • 520.000 hotels registered in 93.000 destinations • Headquarters on the outskirts of Boston. It has 1.172 employees. In 2010 it had a turnover of 486 million dollars (360 million euros), and its gross profit margin averages 50 percent, according to infor mation it has sent to Preferente.

• TripAdvisor's income is from advertising such as the CPC (cost per click) platforms and the display advertising (banners and publicity), aimed at hotels or destinations who wish to publish their offers or services. ity of rivals writing bad criticism and reducing the average point of each establishment.

Estalella criticises the fact that “it appears that the online companies live in cyber space and do not abide by any set rules” which is why CEHAT is working in conjunction with its European counterparts to draw up a council of good practice in this regard.

The Secretary-General of the Hotel

association believes that we “have to convince” TripAdvisor that imposing regulations “will help them” because “it cannot allow there to be lies”. For online reputation professionals the research being carried out “will not have much effect as it does not reach the final user”. “The effect seen in Spain will be minimal”, they conclude.

TripAdvisor has become the first truly global tourism brand. This is

something no other online agency or airline has achieved who centre their activity on one country or specific region. The large hotel chains, despite being global, enjoy a brand reputation that only the elite can permite. However, last July the TripAdvisor website registered 50 million individual visitors from around the world, a figure never before achieved by any other company within the industry.

Interview with Stephen Kaufer, CEO and founder of TripAdvisor

“The number of critical comments matter in order to form an opinion about a hotel” Rafa Fernández

Do you think that the removal of “criticism in which you can trust” from your website will affect the users' confidence in the opinions published by TripAdvisor?

-These slogans that we use change constantly to reflect different aspects of the business. With “criticisms of our community” we want to emphasise the importance of our faithful community. “Criticism in which you can trust” can still be seen in other places on our website to show that we consider TripAdvisor a reliable source.

Have you considered improving the filters?

-Obviously, we take the legitimacy of our content very seriously indeed. If users did not find our information useful and trustworthy they simply would not visit us. Our filters are in constant evolution and improvement to scan opinions with suspicious input. For example, we have a filter that examines the IP addresses as one means of discovering those who try to write multiple criticisms of a single hotel (this is why those who are not invited are recommended to write comments

about the hotels in which they stay, as otherwise it may appear that staff are writing). As soon as a review is discovered to be false we have a team of inspectors who analyse each case in depth. Let me remind you that a study by PhoCusWright reported that 98 percent of those surveyed consider the TripAdvisor comments to live up to real life experiences.

How many experts are reviewing the suspicious reports?

-We have around 70 people in our contents team and another 20 experts with great experience examining the truth of the content.

In reference to reports that are several years old, are you looking at taking measures so that these do not become obsolete in the face of eventual refurbishments?

-We think that all criticism is useful, but clearly the most recent are the most credible. If an establishment has undergone renovation we encourage owners and administrators to update their profiles.

Have you considered introducing a system to check if those submitting the reports have actually stayed at the hotel they are writing about?

- No. We think that all travellers,

not only the person who made the reservation or who has the invoice, have the right to give their opinion. We also know that the number of reports matter in order to form an opinion about whether a hotel in particular is suitable for you, so we want to en-

sure that all the hotels have sufficient reports to provide enough information to travellers. Confirming the stay would drastically reduce the number of reports about the property which would be counter-productive for our objective which is to help our visitors.

November 2011 · World Travel Market · preferente

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ABTA 2011:

more innovation and less tax British travel agents converge in Mallorca, Spain, to find inspiration in the “change of play” Vasallo, the most important fact is that “the 2007 market has not only been recovered but surpassed”, for Spain received 34.5% of the British market against 31.6% four years ago.

All this has come to pass in a year when the British traveller abroad dropped by 2% in package holidays. Turkey, who won Spain hands down as competitor in recent years, dropped 1.5% in market share over the first nine months of 2011.

Natalia Blanes

Two years prior to original plan and with around half the number of usual attendees, The Annual British Travel Agency Convention, organized by ABTA took place again in Mallorca between 3rd and 5th October 2011. The Convention was celebrated in the Meeting Palace of Palma’s Pueblo Español and one repeatedly heard the phrase “these are hard times”. This remark reflecting the reality of the moment explains that on this occasion only 800 professionals and a group of specialized journalists were present, far from the 1800 who participated at the last convention on the island in 2003 However, the persistent crisis that envelops everything did not hinder promotion of the present and future of the industry which gives reality to the holidays and dreams of millions of tourists. The morning after the inauguration of The Travel Convention in Palma, and enlivened by the party organized in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Cosmos, held in the mythical Tito’s, ABTA President, John McEwan stated that “for the first time in memory the government is listening to a single voice in the travel industry”. ATOL (Air Travel Organiser’s Licensing) is the key.

On the other side of the battle field stands the enemy, APD (Air Passenger Duty). McEwan was decisive in his words against it and against other governmental measures, claiming “the changes being proposed are unjust, opaque and damaging for our industry”. The ABTA President asked aloud why British families must pay more for their holidays than oth-

Getting to know the British tourist

ers and the agreement of the public could be sensed on the air. In his crusade against APD he had a heavyweight supporter from the airline industry: Willie Walsh, Managing Director of the IAG consortium (Iberia and British Airways), who declared that the United Kingdom is the laughing stock of the world because of its excessive airport taxes.

This tax should be eliminated, not reduced, he declared.

Optimistic figures

In spite of everything there was time for optimism. Jeremy Warner, of The Telegraph, reminded the attendees that “even in a recession there are people with money and people who want to spend” and“forget their problems”. But he also emphasized that these people “want value for their money”.

This is probably the case of the almost ten million British visitors who chose Spain as their holiday destination between January and August 2011. The figure, provided by the former Director of the Spanish Tourism Office in London, Ignacio Vasallo, represents an 8.8% increase over the same period last year. For

There were other figures released during the three days of The Travel Convention. One of them was encouraging for the travel industry, as it revealed a growing tendency of people visiting travel agencies in the United Kingdom. The figure has increased from 17% to 25% in 12 months. Moreover, the Arkendord report on British consumer priorities when booking their holidays revealed that 86% prioritize safe and protected accommodation. It highlights that 79% consider financial protection essential or important when booking, 5% more than last year. More

ABTA in Turkey The 2011 ABTA Travel Convention in Palma had not yet finalised when the venue of the next one was announced. It will be in Turkey, between 10 and 12th October 2012. The place chosen is a popular 5 star resort in Belek, near Antalya. This will be the first time that the Convention is held on Turkish soil since Istambul in 1996. It will also be the first time it is held in an all inclusive resort, thus representing a cost saving to the organization.

information: belonging to ATOL or ABTA is valued by 74% and 73% respectively, of those surveyed and they prefer a known name when booking a holiday. A surprising detail was that a low price was only a determining factor for 53% of consumers British travel agents noted another fact revealed by the ABTA survey: only 1 in every 5 tourists take out holiday insurance, a similar figure to last year. Moreover, it was revealed that there was great confusion about assistance abroad: 20% of British tourists wrongly believe

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preferente · World Travel Market · November 2011

that the British government will give them financial help abroad, should they require it.

Advice on a global perspective

Thanks to a select panel of speakers, “play changers”, the attendees enjoyed advice given by the economist Douglas McWilliams, whose recommendation was for improvement in client attention and to forget about hidden surcharges in order not to scare away consumers whose shrunken wallets have made them less tolerant. Moreover, McWilliams forecast that online sales would increase by 63% over the next 10 years.

On internet, there exist companies such as Google and Travelzoo, which had a high profile representative at the ABTA convention. Nigel Huddleston, head of Google Travel,

relieved the audience by denying any intention of becoming a travel agent.

In his speech he presented three new free products aimed at travellers: Google Goggles, Google Voice Search and Google Translate. Before

the audience, Huddleston explained that in his opinion one of the keys to a possible advantage of Google’s travel division against competitors is “an incredible speed in search results” thanks to ITA technology.

The recipe for another of the examples of success on the internet, Travelzoo, had other components.

Its Executive President, Chris Loughlin, encouraged travel agents to be disruptive in their industry and remain vigilant against the advance of other disruptive elements in travel.

He explained his work scheme which has enabled him to attain 24 million subscribers in 11 countries across the globe, with 1.4 million euros in revenue from publicity. His business formula is based on promoting the best offers to attract a large number of users who, in turn, attract advertisers. Loughlin strongly recommended travel agents to check the accuracy of their offered products, something that for him is “the piece missing in the industry”.

"I love Spain" Today, Spain is the favourite holiday destination for British holidaymakers. It is followed by their own country, the United Kingdom. Next, and in descending order comes France, Greece, and Italy. Turkey appears seventh in the ranking. This comes as no surprise to Spain, and even less to the Balearics. The islands are proud of welcoming this year almost 40% of all Britains visiting Spain. And the reason is not price alone. British travellers know that destinations like Mallorca offer them quality, safety, innovation and the variety they seek and it is available 365 days each year to welcome visitors. The island transmitted this message to the ABTA travel agents this October and hopes to welcome them again so they will enjoy its nature, culture, cuisine, excellent climate and hotel, shopping and leisure offer –all of a level to satisfy the European consumer of the XXI century.

The ‘all inclusive’ offer outside the hotel is the latest wholesale Bubble strategy danger The option of extending the complementary offer plants doubts withinadvertising the sectormega offers A proliferation of websites creates uncertainty in the industry

Mario Ramos

Neither Facebook, Twitter, nor MySpace. The website with the most rapid growth in the history of the Internet is called Groupon and was founded by the thirty year old Andrew Mason in November 2008. The method is simple: each registered user receives highly attractive promotions; once they enter and show an interest they wait until a group of other people also show an interest in participating in this promotion. When the minimum number of persons required is complete, the promotion becomes effective. Currently, Groupon has over 83 million followers in 43 countries and has sold over 70 million commercial offers. The most attractive point is its rapid grown in revenue: Groupon, employing 8.000 people, invoiced 644.7 million dollars in the

Dozens of British online agencies have closed down in the past two years but competition continues to increase first quarter of 2011, against the 713,4 million it generated across the entire year of 2010. In 2009 it invoiced only 30 million dollars. However, it is registering losses (117 million dollars in the first quarter of 2011), and it spends around 100 million per quarter. This is due to the 180 million dollars in marketing expenditure between January and March. Moreover, it moves in an extremely competitive business due to the low entry barriers:

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Groupalia, buyvip, Letsbonus, Santa Monica Club, VentePrivee, Destinity, ViaVip, etc.

However, the owners of Groupon are optimistic and believe that their business will still grow considerably, and this is why they said no to Google when, at the close of last year the giant tried to buy the compnay for a figure approximating 3.000 million dollars.

After Groupon‘s negative reply Google announced it would launch its own company of offers and discounts, called Google Offers.

Excess offer

The proliferation of this type of website with mega holiday offers has not only tightened the rope on traditional travel agencies, but has reduced the online quota. This does not seem to worry investors.

One of the most recent operations in this market segment, already approved by the European Union, was the sale of Opodo by Amadeus to the Axa and Permira groups for 450 million euros. The objective of these groups is to merge Opodo with e-dreams and Go-Voyages to create Europe’s largest online agency. If this comes to pass, it will be at a price for both groups for Axa purchased Go Voyages for between 300 and 350 million euros last year beating Permira which a few months ealier had taken over edreams for between 250 and 300 million euros.

Online battle

In order to grow on Internet, the companies with greater purchasing power choose to buy out their rivals.

Is Opodo worth 450 million euros? It is undoubtedly a high price for a website that does not appear in any on the main sales rankings. In fact, Opodo operates in nine countries with the main markets being the United King-

preferente · World Travel Market · November 2011

dom, France, Germany and Scandinavia. In the United Kingdom, for example, Opodo is not even among the 50 top online wholesalers, where rivals such as Expedia.co.uk, Thomson Holidays, lastminute.com, Thomas Cook, or First Choice do appear.

In Spain the company operates but is a very long way behind the top names -Rumbo, edreams, atrapalo.com, etc.

In France, Opodo does appear in the top ten. In the last week of April it was number seven with 1.8% of market share (Travelzoo-France, the first on the list, has 19.4%). It is difficult for there to be a market for hundreds of different online agencies together with a large number of private holiday clubs, tourism outlets and coupon websites. The consumer cannot assimilate such a great number. In the United Kingdom dozens of online agencies have closed down in the past two years, leaving many tourists to their own fate. The British agencies have already created a common rescue fund for these travellers.

First problems

Today, many people are members of a website of this nature. In recent years they have spread like mushrooms and all have tried to climb on the band wagon. Businesses wanting to gain exposure have found this a very interesting window and have therefore joined in. But will they continue to do so? “We do not want

To sell holidays the law obliges companies' travel websites to be registered as an agency to have anything more to do with Groupon nor with the online discounts. Their clauses are abusive, and they take advantage of the small companies”.

“Currently I am satisfied with the publicity and the repercussion but not with the profitability; you lose money”, comments the manager of a 3 star hotel in Malaga who launched the following offer via Groupon: two nights, breakfast, welcome drinks and a gift for 119 euros for two persons (63% discount). Six persons purchased it.

“It is evident that the consumer profile is of those seeking a cheap offer. Our work is to gain client fidelity”. This is ever more difficult due to the enormous number of websites launching offers and before repeating a hotel the client opts for another offer creating a snowball within an industry that is fighting to raise prices after the crisis and finding itself hindered from doing so because of these websites.

The growth of reservation websites seems endless and day by day they reduce traffic from traditional travel agencies, who are the big losers.

Calvià So much more than sun and beach

Thanks to its excellent climate, the community of Calvià offers a variety of cultural and sporting activities all through the fall and winter like Hiking, Golf, Cycling, Athletics, Football, Rugby, Watersports and other Nautical activities, etc.

Situated in the southwesterly part of Mallorca, Calvià is the one community that with some 60,000 beds offers the highest number of hotel accommodation in the Balearics. Internationally, Calvià and its highly qualified professionals – both management and staff - rank amongst those with the highest level of touristic knowledge and experience. Together with the Community Administration at the Town Hall they are constantly improving and expanding the areas‘ seasonal program, for visitors to benefit from maximum enjoyment during all seasons, in the coastal areas as much as in its beautiful countryside villages.

One of the many qualities of this emblematic part of Mallorca is the variety of scenery. Illetas, Bendinat, Portals Nous, Palmanova, Magalluf, Santa Ponça and Paguera – all of these towns are renowned touristic brands in their own right within Europe – together make up the community of Calvià.

Along its 54 km of coastline, Calvià offers 34 beaches that are being maintained and kept up by the town to be in perfect condition during all seasons and at any time of the year.

As a matter of fact, Calvià is proud to display 9 Blue Flags above its beaches, as well as to present its

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visitors with the 3 prestigious “Q”s awarded for outstanding touristic quality by international tourism organizations.

Magnificent hotels and the best services in both restaurants and in the commercial sector round up Calvià‘s touristic offer. Especially the many culinary establishments which have taken up the inspiration to match the great quality of their surroundings.

However, with the many installations for an active vacation throughout the municipality, Calvià is so much more than just sun and beach: Golfcourses, Water Sport installations and recreational ports allowing for any kind of Nautical Activity; Football pitches with natural grass that are being used as winter training grounds by teams from all over Europe thanks to its magnificent temperatures (from mid November to mid March temps are between 15º to 18º C); 6 public Indoor Swimming Pools; an Athletic Track that is being used to prepare athletes for national and international competitions; Bicycle Routes and finally a Rugby Pitch are also examples of the many attractions Calvià offers its visitors.

In addition, this Mallorcan village also looks back at a rich history that

preferente · World Travel Market · November 2011

becomes evident in its many cultural and natural heritage sites, its relevant arquelogical treasures, country estates and defence towers. Impressive natural and ecological values of the community are being represented by the peninsula of Cala Figuera and Na Burguesa. With more than 80% of the municipality declared as rustic territory in the national property register, Calvià benefits from important protection legislation – including the Serra de Tramuntana Mountain range, which has recently been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

It was with the same interest that the municipality of Calvià recently purchased the historic country estate Finca Galatzó, an antique property measuring 1401 hectars, located at the foot of the area’s highest peak, the Puig de Galatzó (1026m). It is one of the best preserved properties of its kind in the Balearics, and as it represents almost 10% of the municipality’s rural property, it can without doubt be considered one of the green belts of the island, Mallorca’s home to a wide variety of botanical and ornitological species.

As a public property, the finca is open to all visitors free of charge and at any day of the year. For hiking aficionados, many well-marked trails are criss-crossing the expansive estate.

On a more mysterious side remains the legend of “The Evil count”, an evil nobleman who was the second Count of Santa Maria de Formiguera (XVII century) and who according to folk

tales rode a green horse around his property. Local guides take pleasure in introducing him in their own humorous ways to all tourists interested in gaining more knowledge about the myth of the infamous Count.

It is exactly this long history that is still very much present in the popular local fiestas, like for example “Les Festes del Rei En Jaume”, that take place in Santa Ponsa every year during the month of September. Tourists and residents come together to celebrate the anniversary of the landing of King James on the Mallorcan shores in 1229, to conquer Mallorca from the hands of the Arabs.

For this occasion the beach of Santa Ponsa becomes the battleground for the re-enactment of the historic “Battalla de Moros y Cristianos” (Battle of the Moors and Christians), very popular in many Spanish coastal towns.

Thanks to its hospitality and gracious welcome, Calvià is also home to residents of 100 different nationalities, who bring their own traditions and festivals to the area. A favorite among them is the German Oktoberfest, which transforms the town of Paguera into an entertaining Germanstyle village during two weeks in the month of October.

By definition, Calvià is a municipality full of surprising finds, and natural beauty that has survived the test of time. It is up to you now to take the first step, to come and enjoy getting to know what Calvià is all about.

ANALYSIS. By Federico Belloni, consultant for the vacational hotel sector and Professor at the CETT-UB Hotel and Tourism College

Emotional marketing: how to transform our hotel into a lovemark Navigating on YouTube I took a look at some videos showing television advertiesements from the eighties and my attention was drawn to the campaigns of two car brands: Fita and Volvo and noticed that only the material characteristics of the products were highlighted: comfort, energy saving, safety or trustworthiness. In those years marketing principles suggested that to gain ground over the competitors and position the products more favourably than your competitors on the market, the tangible qualities of the product needed to be promoted. This was labelled ‘benefit marketing’ thinking that clients were more attracted by rational arguments than by emotional apeal.

But since then much has changed. The competitive set has altered: in each segment there are an enormous number of companies producing almost identical products

and services. Clients now see little substantial difference when they choose products based on rational aspects and therefore they tend to choose the one with the lowest price.

However, the consumer has also altered. Today the purchaser is far more sensitive and emotional, more geared to satisfying his or her own self-esteem and feeling of belonging through the purchase of goods and services that have a symbolic

Sol Meliá has fully understood the importance of the emotions and created the Experience Manager for their ME hotels

meaning and reflect certain values, style and meaning of life. The consumer is more conscious of his or her needs and therefore demands true understanding and emotional connection from companies. This then becomes an indispensable condition for achieving client fidelity and time management. Within this new parameter it is even more necessary to understand that it is not so important to conquer the clients’ minds but to gain their hearts.

Think about the MP3 market: Why does Apple’s ipod have over 70% of the market share when it is more expensive yet offers the same functions as other music players?

Because the Apple designs are cool, fashionable, dynamic, fresh, and futuristic. A desire to belong to the ‘bitten apple’ community is contagious, it underlines positive and distinctive values and represents a certain lifestyle, transforming the

In the Meliá ME hotels the Experience Manager takes care of every detail prior to the client’s arrival. For example, a playlist of the guest’s favourite songs is prepared and will be automatically played on the ipod in the guest’s bedroom from the moment of arrival.

Cupertino brand into one loved by millions of consumers worldwide.

The terminology ‘emotional marketing’ is used, referring to the importance of appealing to deep emotions.

Nike also uses it, selling an attitude, courage to be daring: ‘Just do it’.

In this feild, the hotel industry has many advantages because the guest is in contact with the hotel at a moment in life that can be considered ‘sensitive’ -a moment when the client is far from home and everyday things and, more often than not, from his close affinities, placing his trust in us and our collaborators to take care of him, to satisfy his needs and ensure he feels good. In this context the first emotional marketing concept we can apply is our ability to foment

a positive relationship, providing attention that we must learn how to communicate to the guest even before he arrives.

Sol Meliá has understood this well for in their ME establishments the company has introduced a new professional figure within their organigram, that of the Experience Manager, who takes care of every detail to ensure that the client’s stay is unforgettable. Prior to arrival, the Experience Manager contacts the guest to personally introduce him or herself and to assure the client that he is expected and to find out any specific information in order to personalise the guest experience in the best way possible. For example, a playlist of the guest’s preferred songs is prepared which the ipod in the room will automatically play when he enters. The Experience Manager will also enquire about any favourite perfumes in order to scent

Surprise, creativity, sincerity, involvement, emotion, relaxation and empathy are the fundamental principles in this field

Five key principles of ‘Emotional Marketing’ in hotels 1.- Play great attention to the welcome. It is an optimum means of establishing an emotional connection with the guest.

2.- Many hotels have interesting stories to tell. Involve the guests with these stories to create a closer relationship.

3.- Take care of our communication with clients focusing on their needs and our ability to satisfy them instead of concentrating on the tangible aspects of our services.

4.- Focus on choosing guests with whom we share hobbies, interests, passions, lifestyles, specialising our offer in a coherent manner.

5.- Receive any guest complaint with gratitude and great respect, considering it an opportunity rather than an inconvenience. In this case our attitude is almost always a key to obtaining client appreciation or, alternatively, to losing the client completely. the air of the room throughout the guest’s stay. The ME by Meliá concept is designed to “talk to the client’s aura”, the most emotional and spiritual part, while simultaneously caring for the more worldly ambience features where scents, colours and music change with the hours in order to be in harmony with the biorhythms and thus relax the client.

Surprise, creativity, sincerity, involvement, emotion, relaxation and empathy are therefore the fundamental principles to bear in mind when developing our daily activity because today the client will only reward us if we learn to speak to his soul, transforming our brand into a lovemark. belloni@tsmconsulting-barcelona.com

Palma

takes a leap into the future © Mallorca Quality.

With a strong commitment to tourism, the new administration wants to convert the balearic capital into a modern city, lively and cosmopolitan, 365 days a year R. P.

Palma has proposed a leap forward, to become a modern, vibrant, cosmopolitan city. For the new Council team headed by the Mayor, Mateo Isern, tourism is its strongest bet. It is the cornerstone of the economy, and the chosen route for a means of creating employment and boosting the stagnant economy. This is why a clear, decisive tourism policy is the wager of today in order to convert Palma into a tourism city 365 days a year. The City council will give special attention to tourism, reviving the concept “a tourist, a friend” and, above all, ensuring Palma is an attractive city for XXI century tourists who want to learn about its culture, practice sport, and enjoy excellent shopping and leisure activities.

Using the slogan “Awaken Palma” there are 69 proposals for turng the Balearic capital into a first class tourism destination, transforming the “Palma de Mallorca” brand into “Mediterranean City of Tourism Excellence”, and turning it into a year round destination. To achieve this, the Mayor, Mateo Isern, wishes to prioritise the Playa de Palma renovation scheme that has been postponed so many times in the past, and to complete and put into operation the new Conven-

tion Centre which is a fundamental necessity for the city’s futre. The renovation of the Playa de Palma will be realistic and in accordance with the area’s true needs. Public and private funding must go hand in hand. Palma is an ideal destination for conferences and conventions thanks to the magnificent airline connections with all major European capitals. The future Convention Hall will be an enormous complex and place Palma on the map as a new business destination, competing with other European capitals.

The project, designed by the architect Paxi Mangado, perfectly adapts to its Mediterranean surroundings and its emblematic position in the bay of Palma, looking out to sea.

Congress destination

Palma as a destination is able to attract year round visitors, working together with the private sector to provide the capital with an imaginative offer that is outstanding in quality.

Already there are significant events taking place such as the Nit de l’Art, comedy festivals, gastronomic routes, ballet seasons, and regattas such as the Global Ocean Race and the King’s Cup sailing race, a luxuryof which no other city can boast. This sport event attracts professionals and amateurs from around the globe and provides

enormous prestige for the city at international level.

Such initiatives undoubtedly attract great interest in the city of Palma for short break holidaymakers and for gastronomic tourism which are inevitably linked to culture, leisure and shopping. In regard to new tourism markets, Palma is an urban destination ‘par excellence’ and welcomes more city break visitors than anywhere else in the Balearics.

Palma’s climate is ideal, with Mediterranean temperatures averaging at 18.2ºC making it attractive whatever the season. Excellent communication routes link the city with mainland Spain and with other European capitals that are little more than two and a half hours distance by plane.

A modern airport

Palma has a modern airport. Son Sant Joan is only 8 kilometres from the city centre. In recent years the airort has been one of the busiest in Europe and is the main gateway to the island.

Apart from regattas and luxury yachts, the bay of Palma will register 1.8 million cruise tourists in 2011.

This is a 20% increase in volume over 2010. Until now, the city has lived with its back to the sea and only the port itself facing the water. Now, the plan is to ensure that both port and

city are looking in the same direction.

Cruise tourism is the sector showing most growth worldwide.

Thousands of cruise visitors visit Palma and the city must be ready to welcome them and offer them its full potential. A new pier is under construction, 700 metres in length with room to simultaneously berth six cruise liners. Palma Town Hall will publish a daily calendar of cruise arrivals to know exactly how many persons will be entering the city. This is an essential new tool to ensure that the city offers these visitors all they need. Likewise, it will prepare an events calendar featuring all the city’s attractions including leisure and cultural events and facilities to inform the cruise visitor about what they can do and see.

A quality destination must guarantee safety and cleanliness and therefor the local council set in motion its security crackdown in the area of Playa de Palma which has now solved the security problems suffered in this area. It is also drawing up a n Integral Safety Plan which will be ready shortly. Tourists will discover a clean city. The resources already in place will be optimised to ensure cleaning is even more thorough and all areas more popular with tourists will receive extra attention.

Palma takes position again in the British market This year, for the first time ever,the Mayor of Palma wil visit London’s World Travel Market. Mateo Isern will attend with the Tourism councillor, Álvaro Gijón and the councillor for Culture and Sports, Fernando Gilet. The WTM is dedicated to the tourism industry and convenes professionals from around the globe and from all sectors of the industry. This fair is one of the most important in the world alongside Berlin’s ITB, and Fitur in Madrid.

The aim of the event is to maintain and create new contacts, especially within the British market, one that is of prime importance for the Balearics.

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preferente · World Travel Market · November 2011

The hotel industry loses 1.600 million euros through online attacks Over 580 million traveller entries are diverted from the booking pages of hotel chains Pedro José Cacho

The loss of Internet traffic to competitors, along with unnecessary commission payments, cost hotels 1.600 million euros annually worldwide, according to the latest edition of the Brandjacking Index published by MarkMonitor, a company specialising in brand protection. This study confirms that over 580 million visits by travellers are diverted from hotel chains‘ reservation websites to channel partners using marketing techniques via search engines. Hotel brands thus risk their traffic being intercepted by online agencies where the user can even be diverted to competitor companies.

Consequently, they lose clients and income to their competitors or they have to pay unjust commissions. In relation to this, in the words of their marketing director, Frederick Felman, “Internet travel and electronic commerce are a prosperous business, and the time has come for hotels to elevate their Internet marketing strategies to a more sophisticated level, protecting their register of hits”. The experience of the industry, he adds, “shows how easy it is to lose virtual traffic and its corresponding income, not to mention the client relationship, unless a brand protection programme is implemented”.

This is how it is hoped to avoid the practice of online travel agencies who acquire key words of well known companies used by the internaut when searching to make a reservation. The practice causes a loss of income to the value of 1.300 million euros, the annual budget spent by the industry for adver-

The diversion of traffic in search engines together with cyber occupancy are the most fraudulent practices facing the industry

tising on the Internet, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB), and to which are added over 190 million for unnecessary commission payments. Another form of identifiable brand-snatching in the study is cyber occupancy, a technique that abuses the system of dominion name registration by inscribing those that contain brands which are not the property of those making the registration. The report has identified over 2.100 cyber-occupied dominions of only five brands analysed which gen-

erate over 57 million visits per year and which otherwise may well have ended in the official webs of the hotels. Most of them earn their income by means of payment per click schemes (PPC), so all they offer is a series of links for which they charge each time the user makes access. This practice is one of the largest frauds in the tourism industry, and it is a method on on the increase as the latest MarkMonitor study demonstrates, revealing an annual growth of approximately 40 percent.

November 2011 · World Travel Market · preferente

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Stock drain of 28.000 million The world‘s largest tourism groups have lost, to date, 27 percent of their capitalization

R. F., R. H., G. C. y M. R.

The world‘s largest tourism conglomerates that are quoted on the Stock Exchange have lost around 27 percent of their capitalization since the first trading session of 2011. This percentage represents a drop of much more than the 8.7 percent drop of the Dow Jones in New York, or the 15.7 percent of the European FTSE-100 in London over the same period.

In Spain, the five tourism companies quoted on the Stock Exchange have accumulated a depreciation of 23.53 percent to date this year. Amadeus, IAG, Meliá, NH and Vueling have, together, lost over 3.000 million since 3rd January. Since then, the Ibex-35 has dropped 19.13 percent, less than the average of the tourism companies.

On a global scale the largest tourism groups have seen their capitalization wane by 27.769 million euros, according to a comprehensive study by the editorial team of Preferente.

The top 27 tourism companies quoted on the Stock Exchange have dropped in value from 101.636 million euros at the beginning of this year to a value of 73.866 million euros.

UNRESTRAINED FALL

The strongest stock market depreciations have been suffered in Aviation. The world’s ten largest airlines by passenger number, together with the largest European airlines and the only two Spanish companies, have lost 40.13 percent of their value so far this year and over 25.000 million euros.

Of the top 27 tourism companies, the British group Thomas Cook,

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specialising in traditional tour operating, is the one to have suffered most this year, with a plummeting drop of 78.6 percent in less than 10 months. It is followed by AirFrance-KLM, who lost 61.81 percent, and AMR Corporation, parent company of American airlines, with a drop of 57.79 percent.

CONSISTENT

The world’s large hotel groups have managed to weather the market storm somewhat better. The top ten on the planet who are on the stock market accumulate an average drop of 7.8 percent between January and September 2011. The total of their capitalization remeans around the threshold of 30.000 million euros, after having lost just over 2.000 million in 2011.

Whydham Worldwide Corporation, a partner of Meliá in Tryp, is the only one of the 27 largest stock market companies that is worth more now than at the beginning of the year, with a revaluation of 1.3 percent. The opposite can be said of Jin Jiang, which dropped almost 46.8 percent in 10 months, and Accor, which dropped by 40.26 percent.

worldwide in stock market value. At the end of September its quoted value was 10.584 million euros, making it the world’s largest tourism company in this sector. Nevertheless, in the first nine months of the year its has dropped by 40.16 percent.

Almost one year ago IATA revealed that the world’s four largest airlines by value on the stock exchange were Asian. Besides the above-mentioned Air China and China Southern, were Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific. Now, Singapur is in third place, although it has dropped 17.95 percent since January this year, and Cathay Pacific, which dropped 37.79 percent, has now been overtaken by the

American airlines Delta, Southwest and United.

RESISTING

In Europe, the largest low cost airlines, Ryanair, easyJet and Air Berlin are the companies to have suffered the least on the stock exchange since January compared to the other giants on the continent. Ryanair, the top airline in Europe in regard to capital with 4.684 million euros, has dropped only 17.3 percent between January and September 2011, while EasyJet has dropped 23.07 percent and Air Berlin, 35.6 percent.

In reference to hotels, besides the already mentioned Accor and

EMERGING HALT

The two largest Asian airlines by number of passengers transported, China Southern and China Eastern, have likewise not been able to escape the drop in value that is affecting the West. The former accumulated a 30.86 percent drop between January and September and the latter a 24.21 percent drop over the same period.

However, Air China continues to be the largest airline company

preferente · World Travel Market · November 2011

Of the top 27 tourism companies,Thomas Cook is the one to have suffered most this year, with a plummeting drop of 78.6 percent in less than 10 months.

Jin Jiang, those to fall most are the two largest groups in capitalisation, Marriott and Starwood. The former has depreciated by 33.63 percent in the period analysed, leaving 2.419 euros in the Exchange, the largest

loss amount in a tourism company so far this year, while the latter fell by 34.04 percent. Marriott is still the largest hotel group in stock value with 7.195 million euros, while Starwood has 5.841 million.

3.000 million less in Spain IAG, the conglomerate formed by the merger between British Airways and Iberia, is the tourism company to register the most dramatic drop on the stock market of all the five Spanish companies present on the Exchange. So far in 2011 the shares have lost half of their value, 50.29 percent.

The giant airline however is still second in Europe, after Lufthansa, in capitalisation, as it is valued at 3.010 million, and the third largest in passenger volume.

In regard to the national hotel chains, MeliĂĄ is worth more on the stock market than NH, by a difference of over 100 million euros. The chain, owned by the Escarrer family, is valued by the market at 868 million euros, after having dropped by 32 percent since January, while the group presided over by Mariano PĂŠrez Claver, with a drop of 10.55 percent, has a stock market capitalisation of 753 million euros.

Amadeus, which fell by 23.27 percent in 2011, is the national company with the highest value on the stock exchange with a capitalisation of 5.180 million euros, while Vueling has a capital valued at 168 million after a drop of 42.49 euros to date.

Procedure The study has analysed evolution on the stock market since the first trading session of 2011 in each country up until Friday 23rd September. The inclusion of more years was discarded due to the distorsion in the analysis caused by the extensions of capital. The original currency of the stock of each company has been changed into euros.

Record for Dominican Republic

been operating 21 flights per week and, with the assistance of the Ministry of Tourism, we will increase this number to 32, in addition to the 120 seats guaranteed by Apple Vacations on the Jet Blue flight to La Romana which commences on 16th November”, reported the Vice-President of the tour operator.

Apoyo para Puerto Plata

During the meeting promotional plans for winter 2011-2012 were defined and it was revealed that Francisco Javier García had requested that the tour operator give special help to the destination of Puerto Plata, and the company immediately promised to replace charter flights to that province.

Apple Vacations moves over one

The Carribean country registers a 2.9% increase in visitors in the first 8 months of 2011 and signs new agreements for improving on this number in 2012.

Simón Villanueva

The Dominican Republic‘s Central Bank has informed that between January and August of this year the Caribbean country welcomed a total of 3.354.417 tourists, arriving through the different local airports. This figure reflects an increase of 94.403 passengers over the same period in 2010, and represents a record breaking 2.9 percent increase.

90,65 percent of these passengers are non-resident foreigners, according to the report published by the bank.

The Central Bank attributes the increase in tourism to the “dynamism” of South America as arrivals from this part of the world have risen by 76.049 visitors thanks to the promotional campaigns and institutional agreements with airlines and tour operators in different countries within the region.

Likewise, there is an increase of North Americans totalling 39.389 visitors, compensating for the decrease in number of 16.551 European visitors who, according to the report, have been dropping throughout the year due to the effects of the economic crisis affecting the European continent.

In August the number of tourist arrivals dropped by 1.5% because of the tropical storms ‘Emily’ and ‘Irene’ can Republic arrived through Punta Cana airport (60,53%), followed by Las Américas (20,83%), Puerto Plata (9,67%), El Cibao (3,73%), La Romana(3,16%) and La Isabela and El Catey, which together represented 2,08 percent.

New agreements

In spite of the favourable figures reported to date in 2011, the Ministry of Tourism is not complacent and is striving to achieve higher levels of visitors for 2012. After a meeting with the Minister, Francisco Javier García, Apple Vacations, the largest North American

Hurricanes leave their mark

Nevertheless, despire the tourism increase this year, the Central Bank informs that tourist arrivals in August registered 381.259 passenger numbers, reflecting a drop by 1.53% which the study claims was owing to flight cancellations due to the tropical storms ‚Emily‘ and ‚Irene‘ which passed through the region.

In absolute terms, the financial body reported that the greatest increase in passenger arrivals across the period from January to August 2011 was from: the United States (32.838), Brazil (25.636), Russia(25.296) and Argentina (24.032).

Most tourists entering the Domini-

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preferente · World Travel Market · November 2011

tour operator working in the Dominican Republic, pronounced a 30% increase in charter flights next year, which will translate into a greater number of North American visitors to the country.

Tim Mullen, Executive Vice-Preisdent of Apple Vacations, informed that next year the number of weekly charter flights will increase from 21 to 32, indicating the North American market‘s confidence in the Dominican Republic.

Mullen stated his complete trust in the destination, while recognising the management and cooperation of Francisco Javier García at the helm of the Ministry of Tourism. „In 2011 we have

million tourists annually with a total of 850 flights each year to Punta Cana, from 11 North American cities; from 2012 it will add three new cities making a total of fourteen, among which are Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Milwaukee y Baltimore.

Apple Vacations announced a 30% increase in charter flights from the United States for next year.

This tour operator operates six hotels in Punta Cana and Bayahíbe, under the brand AM Resorts. For the year 2013 it hopes to control eleven hotels, including the new Cap Cana Gems and it also intends to develop a new luxury project in Samaná.

“The increase in these flights, guaranteeing the corresponding increase in tourist arrivals to the Dominican Republic from its number one market, reflects North America’s confidence in this country”, declared Francisco Javier García.

‘To go’, Santo Domingo‘s new brand The new slogan hopes to attract one million tourists in 2012 he claims. He commented that over the past ten years the city of Santo Domingo has become the largest business centre in the Caribbean, greatly increasing its cruise tourism which brings 300.000 visitors. However, he also admitted that it is essential to improve the city‘s historical centre and to do this the Inter-American Development Bank has loaned 30 million dollars.

The city the DR needs

The launch of the new City Brand for Santo Domingo is a prelude to gurantee that the Dominican capital will be “the tourist city we all want and need” claimed Francisco Javier García, Minister of Tourism, speaking at the City Brand launch, which took place at the Santo Domingo Hilton. The event was chaired by the Mayor, Rob-

Freddy Ginebra, coordinator of the Santo Domingo Cluster, during the City Brand launch.

Javier Noguera

The city of Santo Domingo will now market itself under the slogan ‚to go‘ hoping to become the most visited capital in the Caribbean and aiming at attracting one million tourists in 2012.

The brand creator, is the publicist Rafael Holguín, who has worked for important national and international companies creating brands for products, services

In its initial phase, this change in the marketing of the city will cost 80 thousand dollars and cities, “He was part of the creative team behind the Microsoft butterfly, and studied in Altos de Chavón, before working for a number of New York companies”, stated Domingo Contreras, Secretary-General of the Council for the National District. Contreras explained that the project is an initiative of the different councils of Gran Santo Domingo, the Tourism Cluster and the Ministries of Tourism and Culture.

The initial phase of this change in marketing strategy has a cost of 80 thousand dollars and will involve

publicity through advertisements used abroad by hotel chains and the government. “The Cluster, created in the effort to make the city of Santo Domingo a tourism magnet, worked with us in the process of finding the means, resources and the willpower necessary to make a successful brand” declared Holguín, who reported that the choice of the symbol was an arduous taks as it needed to group together everything the city has to offer such as gastronomy, sculpture, people, baseball, sea, carnival, culture and history.

Other options

“A myriad of things were contemplated, from a key in a door, symbolising a city of open doors -that is to say, a

series of symbolic ideas- to finally opting for the most simple, based on its own writing and the result was easy, which is important, because when a brand is simple, it registers more on the mind”,

A promotional venture The City Brand is launched based on the concept that something great is happening and on the premise that Santo Domingo is a brand that can be merchandised by means of an image and a common project to compete in a world of continual change. One of the defined themes includes the activity “Hosts in Santo Domingo” , an educational project promoting a series of initiatives aimed at creating an awarenes about fair treatment to tourists and the importance of this industry for the social and economic development of the region.

It also involves a project to promote the attractions of Gran Santo Domingo, which intends to use a series of promotional material and communication in the media presenting all that Santo Domingo has to offer. Yet another project aims at participation in national and international trade fairs to promote Santo Domingo and its attractions

erto Salcedo, who was accompanied by the other Mayors of Gran Santo Domingo and the Manager of the Santo Domingo Tourism Cluster.

“To see materialise an essential and dream project such as the Santo Domingo city Brand is of great satisfaction for the tourism Ministery and, logically, for myself, on a personal level” commented Francisco Javier García. Freddy Ginebra, general coordinator of the Cluster, remarked that the City Brand is a project that will unify all efforts to promote the city and to make feel at home all those who visit us so they will recognise the city as a reference in the Caribbean. “Santo Domingo is gaiety, something that visitors can experience, see, and feel, from the moment they set foot on the ground and find they are somewhere where everyone is a friend, a brother, with ties of friendship that go further than the sea and sand which the Creator has given to the Dominican Republic”.

November 2011 · World Travel Market · preferente

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‘Seniors’

to estimates made by the National Institute of Statistics. To prolong the season, to promote a healthy retirement and to promote European citizenship are the basic clichés of official propaganda. But it is a fact that even public bodies acknowledge the profitability underlying this huge market whose potential has as yet hardly been tapped into.

The principal guilty party in this imminent boom is the Spanish Imserso. It was the first body in Europe to attack this market, commencing way back in 1985 with 16.000 places and just two destinations (Palma and Benidorm). Over the 25 year period that has since transpired more than 12 million retired Spaniards have travelled with it. Today, it offers one million annual holidays distributed across Spain, Andorra and Portugal. In winter 2010 it generated 105.000 jobs.

Also born in Spain is the second

the most wanted target Europe takes up position to target the tourism boom of the senior market

Europe Senior Tourism Program 2010 / 2011 Mónica Libre

Population ageing is one of the demographic phenomena that will most affect the tourism industry over the next years. According to the World Tourism Organization, people over the age of 65 represent 17.4% of the European population today. Supposing that in 2030 the Union still comprises the current twenty-seven countries, this percentage will have risen to 26.6 percent.

With the aim of taking best advantage of the two most prominent features attributed to the new senior populations (greater spending power and more free time) destinations, hotels and tour operators are start-

Wanted: a citizen with a good level of income and free of family obligations that allowing him to travel ing to launch their newest products.

The wholesaler, TUI, has created Club Elan, aimed at the over 55s. This offers holiday packages with an array of leisure activities and a tailored hotel offer. Another formula being seen is that of a special discount: the Spanish national hotel company Paradores markets the Golden Days, with up to 30 percent reduction on the rack rate. The creation of hotels for senior citizens figures among the most avant garde initiatives of new entrepreneurs, and also among some of the veterans: Sol Hoteles, a brand of Meliá Hotels International, offers 22 establishments

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providing services, staff and specifically adapted installations.

Within the senior market segment the population in the 50 to 65 age group is the most attractive target for tourism agents. This can be better understood by considering the average visitor to specialized European fairs: an average age of 61 years and six of every ten with an annual net wage of between 28.500 and 56.000 euros. This is the defining portrait of the public who enter the “50 Plus Beurs” organized by the Bayard editorial group, one of the world’s market leaders in this segment, and something that has been running for the past twenty years across Europe..

Retired adventurers

Other more sociological features colour this profile to to target a retired adventurer who in his youth invented divorce, experienced the hippie movement and opposed the conventional family model. Someone who is naturally open to the new experiences that the travel industry has designed exclusively for him. However, leaving aside the lyrical advertising jargon, essential in the catalogues but ineffective as an element of analysis, the fundamental factor is Price: the

Estimation of users bay location and type of bonus Andalucía

Baleares

Valencia

Canarias

Total

Bonus 150

11.065

3.742

0

9.776

24.583

Bonus 100

20.758

4.657

3.408

1.307

30.130

Total

31.823

8.399

3.408

11.083

54.713

Estimated volume of overnight stays bay destination and length of stay Duration

8 days /7 nights

Andalucía

Baleares

Valencia

Canarias

Total

192.913

56.217

22.358

74.592

271.488

15 days/14 nights

54.418

5.110

2.884

5.964

64.412

22 days/21 nights

3.822

63

84

21

3.969

29 days/28 nights

5.460

0

112

0

5.572

256.613

61.390

25.438

80.577

424.018

Total

(Estimate based on data provided bay the concessionaires Eurosenior Zoetrope and UTE Eurosenior)

bullseye is a citizen with a stable and good income, a home owner free from family obligations.

Profit for all

In Europe there are 102 million tourists between 55 and 75 years of age. In Spain, at 1st July 2011, this age group numbered 9.315.990, according

large experiment in this market: the European Senior Tourism programme which, since 2009, subsidizes holidays in Spain for people over 55 years from emerging European markets. This is a pioneering programme at international level which Portuagl , France, Italy, Greece and Poland are now also already looking into.

More tourists, more work, more money Within the prívate sector the favourable welcome given to the senior segment is unanimous. Rafael Gallego, President of the Spanish Travel Agency Federation (FEAAV), considers it an essential market for prolonging the season –it improves the number of tourist arrivals and stimulates the labour market. According to his figures, for every one hundred thousand beds, 6.000 jobs are created. Gallego underlines the IMSERSO results which raise profit made by public administration from 1.3 to 1.8 euros. “It is a perfectly well-organized programme, which is why Europe is interested in copying it. In areas such as the Costa del Sol, the Balearics and the Canaries it is essential that the number of places offered be increased.

preferente · World Travel Market · November 2011

Twiddling the package

Selling packages without flights is the latest attempt at gaining back clients from Internet

Guiem Costigan

Times are changing in the industry and operators adapt to them with alternatives to their traditional product.

The latest, within the strategy of offering a tailored service to a client, is the marketing of holiday packages without flights so that, as Oscar Sanz, Marketing Manager of Mapa Tours explains, “the travel agent can obtain more competitive tariffs in other scheduled or low cost airlines”. In this way, as

The saving can be around 200 euros per person, depending on the destination

journey to adapt to the client‘s preferred airline”. In this way, he adds, “the agencies can recover a consumer who is tending to book tickets online and also services in the final destination.

The agent can now offer a client the tour or package he is looking for and adapt it to his preferred flights, or offer him this important part of a combined journey, the air reservation, with its corresponding economic advantage”. And this option may represent a great saving not only for the user but also for the professional ”for more than ten months of the year, albeit on key dates, it is still more advantagous to purchase the

Juan José Cid, Operating Manager of Nobeltours states, “we offer the agent the freedom to select air routes using his own system or allow the final user to book on Internet the flights he prefers, without conditioning him to a specific company months in advance, but without renouncing the contract of a well-designed, quality package.”.

This initiative applied by Nobeltours in all its destinations is, admits Cid, “an innovative project and, as such, requires time to ‚mature‘ with agents and travellers alike, but it is already creating great interest because it helps their sales as they can take advantage of some of the air tariffs which, unfortunately, airlines launch to the final user; also it allows the

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preferente · World Travel Market · November 2011

full package”.

Catai Tours applies this sales format in its European programme where there is a great offer of ‚low cost‘ companies and a growing tendency to purchase online tickets, and in this way, according to company sources, it “combines a more reduced airline price with the quality of our services on land, which many travellers do not wish to relinquish”. This method can represent a saving of some 200 euros per person, although this of course depends on the detstination. However, ·many clients continue searching for the full package, either because they prefer to have everything organized for them, or because often the Internet

Many clients request a holiday package because they prefer to have it totally organized for them creates great expectation and at the moment of searching for a determined timetable to suit the holiday, especially at weekends, the user realises that it is not so profitable”.

How to convert the client into our best consultant Magma Turismo and the IE Business School analyse corporate identity on the Internet Simón Villanueva

The managing partner of Magma Turismo, Albert Grau, has no doubt: “while one year ago there were still hoteliers who were questioning whether or not to participate in social networks, today we know that it is a necessity and, moreover, in a professional way, without trepidation, but assuming the fact that if things are not done well there is a risk of it affecting our identity”.

The key is to convert the client into our best consultant, for his comments, as Ronald Friedlander, CEO and President of ReviewPro states, “they serve to measure client satisfaction and we must rapidly resolve the problems that are posted, duly informing them that they have been solved and involving the entire team in the improvement process”. He adds, “It is not in vein that the opinion of other users determines a decision of whether to purchase or not”; besides having, as comments Josiah Mackenzie, founder of HotelMarketingStrategies.com, “a key role in the visibility of a company”.

In this regard, the Director of the Executive Master in Tourism Management at the IE Business School, Antonio López de Ávila, insists in the dual importance of managing social networks: “firstly, because they will be one of the main means of client

The opinion of other users is a determining factor in the decision of whether or not to purchase, and in the visibiliy of a company communication in the near future with young people already using them intensively to communicate between themselves and to obtain information about any aspect of their life; and secondly, because the material they generate offers a great opportunity for improvement”. This is why presence on these networks is necessary but following certain steps outlined by Grau: “using integrity and coherence between the essence of our brand and its presence on the networks; employing a planned and structured strategy in accordance with the attributes one wishes to transmit in order to motivate the user’s participation and improve our product quality, helping us make decisions and even in knowing when to increase prices. And we must

not forget the importance of following up on the results, for by correct planning we can avoid any possible negative impact”.

Although there is still a long way to go, says Albert Grau, “the tourism sector and the hotel chains in particular are doing their homework in incorporating their brands on social networks”. The large groups, he explains, “were the first to land thanks

to their large budgets which allowed them to be more aggressive and take more presence over others such as Vincci or Eurostar who arrived later and with less presence. It is not solely a question of budget but also because companies such as Barceló or Sol Meliá work with a more vacational client as opposed to a city client, such as NH, a user less willing to reveal his experiences”.

Spain remains world leader in blue flags The Balearics registers a negative mark, losing nine over last year

put forward by a number of municipalities.

This result implies than in summer 2011 the blue flag was flying in one of every six Spanish beaches and that one of every six blue flags in the world was flying in Spain, according to the International Blue Flag Jury composed of the FEE, the United Nations Environmental (PNUMA-UNEP) and Tourism (OMTWTO) Agencies and other organisations such as the International Lifesaving Federation of the European Union for the Conservation of Coastlines (EUCC) or the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

26 years of blue flags

Mario Ramos

Spain, with 603 Blue Flags, 511 on beaches and 92 in marinas, is still the leader among the 36 Blue Flag participating countries in the northern hemsphere. Despite the crisis, these results show that the significant improvements achieved in 2010 have been upheld, with a slight decrease in the case of 10 beaches compensated nonethe less by an increase of 8 newly-awarded marinas.

This signifies that in a great number of Communities and Regions the 2010 figure remains unaltered, such as in Ex-

tremadura, the Basque Country, Ceuta & Melilla or, in the overall number of beaches and marinas, with a difference equal to,or less than, two units, such as in the Canaries (+1), Cantabria (-1), Asturias (-2) or Galicia (-2). However, worth mentioning is theincrease of eight beaches in Valencia this year, along with three marinas and a beach in Catalonia. In Andalusia an increase of two marinas is a net gain as the number of beaches remains unaltered, while in Galicia the three new marinas compensate, in part, for the loss of 5 beaches after the considerable increase of 8 beaches in 2010. This pendular move-

ment is repeated in the slight losses of one beach in Cantabria and two in Asturias after their respective increases of eight and five beaches in 2010.

The decrease is especially centred in beaches in the Balearics (-9), neutralising the increase registered (+9) in 2010. This is because, as in other coastal areas, but here more noticeably, Town Halls are facing difficulties in complying with the ADEAC demands of providing at least two lifeguards, even in tiny coves where the minimum local legal requirement is for one. The drop in number of three beaches in Murcia is more related to the drop in candidates

The Blue Flag programme was created in France in 1985 by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE); it spread to the sphere of the European Community in 1987 on the occasion of the European Year of the Environment. Since then, its international expansion has continued and now encompasses 41 countries across five continents.

Most Regions and Cities have maintained their 2010 figures

Survival of the fittest Google launches a hotel search engine and threatens the array of specialised portals that have flowered in recent years Pedro JosĂŠ Cacho

Since 2001 to the present day Google has taken over more than 100 companies. In the past two years its rhythm has been of two purchases per month. The most recent was Motorola, the most expensive of its history. This followed DoubleClick in 2007 dedicated to online advertising and YouTube, five years ago. Videos, advertising and mobile manufactureres; the Californaian company does not reject any market segment. And tourism is no exception.

In 2010 Google purchased ITA Software, a supplier similar to Amadeus using travel programming companies. On the day the purchase was made public the shares of Expedia, Orbitz and Priceline plummeted -all flight comparison portals. After a few months the American company created its own online flight search engine.

What Google really wants is to ex-

ploit to the maximum one of its greatest assets: the unimaginable database it possesses with detailed information on the habits and hobbies of each individual. But parallel to its intentions is the dilemma of where does one draw the limits of its monopoly.

Now it seems that the next victims will be other specialised search engines, in this case, those of hotels. The birth of Google Hotel Finder has an added value in regard to other hotel search sites for it is specifically designed for mobile phones so that the traveller is localised and can see on his screen the nearest hotel establishments with the corresponding tariffs.

At present the new tool is working at experimental level and only locations in the United States have been inserted. But for sure Hostelworld, Booking or Hotels.com are worried.

The place where they market their business will also become their greatest competitor. And a difficult one.

For example, once the client has decided upon his hotel it will be Google maps that guides him to the establishment. Most probably the hotels will be eager to market themselves with the giant which charges for such a privileged position. And with more means it can offer the consumer a more simple, complete and attractive page, while simultaneously displacing its new rivals.

Havana,Cuba‘s door to the world The capital of the largest island in the West Indies attracts visitors from around the globe Luz Marina Fornieles/Havana

With almost five centuries of history, Havana, and especially its old town, represents one of Latin America‘s most beautiful cities.

Visitors can stroll through this living museum and remember it all.

To today‘s visitors this sea town is a different Havana, new, risen from its ashes, restored after the passing of centuries.

History dates back almost five centuries. Legend has it that on 16th November 1519, in the shade of a kapok, the Town of San Cristóbal de la Habana was founded in the exact spot where the Templete now stands, witness then to the first town council and the first mass. Cuba recently cel-

ebrated the 491st anniversary of its foundation as capital with a determination to continue its restoration and conservation works.

Many landmarks represent historical memory: the Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro, the Real Fuerza , Havana Cathedral, Havana breakwater, a wide wall running over five kilometres in length separating land from sea, the Hotel Nacional and the statue of Cristo de La Habana, to mention the most visible.

Havana is another year older, while is cobbled streets and historical landmarks continue delighting foreign visitors and citizens alike, discovering renewed beauty in well-known corners.

Alexander Humboldt, the Prussian baron, considered to be the second

conqueror of Cuba, described Havana as “one of America’s most picturesque cities”, and with the passing of time other foreign and local personalities continue to find it just as beautiful, with the secular baroque wood architecture, the glass windows, wroughtiron work and myriad of columns forming a communion of styles from neo-classical to the totally eclectic.

With its historical, cultural and tra-

Visitors can stroll through this living museum and remember it all ditional wealth Havana is the cultural destination par excellence in the West Indies.

Ernest Hemingway, Nobel Literature prizewinner, stated that in beauty, Havana was only bettered by Venice and Paris. A vibrant coastal city, open, happy and unprejudiced, but wtih its own inner life.

San Cristóbal de La Habana offers many attractions as a tourism destination: beautiful beaches, a colonial architecture of enormous value and many leisure centres. Here are the large hotels, sparkling cabarets and most famous restaurants.

Event tourism is growing year on year in Havana. And alternatively, sea sport and health-themed vacations are becoming popular. Here to

be enjoyed are clubs, marinas, leisure parks, museums, theatres, sport centres and excursions within Havana and its surroundings.

Cuba is connected with 43 cities across the world by over 100 airlines and has 10 international airports of which the largest and most modern is that of Havana itself. And there is the connection by sea, with 10 marinas, including Tarará and Marina Hemingway in Havana There are also plans currently under development for hotels and golf courses, and for the transformation of the bay into an important tourism port which will make it one of the largest in the region.

Rightly considered the capital of all Cubans, Havana will share protagonism with Mexico as destination, market and product, in that order, in the XXXI Cuban International Tourism Fair FITCUBA 2012, due to take place in May in the traditional venue of the Morro-Cabaña Complex.

In 2012 it will be three decades since UNESCO declared Havana’s Historical Centre a World Heritage site -today one of over 800 in number: 117 in America, and eight of these in Cuba), and Havana continues to be mystical, with centuries of history and a wealth of archictecutre and culture buried in each of its stones, cobbles and in the very people themselves, who together make it truly authentic and alive.

By means of the new tourism campaign linked to its image and entitled Authentic Cuba, the primoridal objective, according to the tourism Minister Manuel Marrer, its to “reveal ourselves to the world just as we are”

Cuba: beaches for everyone The largest island in the West Indies has over 300 kilometres of natural beaches

Luz Marina Fornieles/Havana

Cuba is authentic, like its people: attractive, like its beaches; surprising, like its cities; contrasting, like its nature; and admirable, like its culture. Cuba is a synthesis of natural abundance. With a heteroginous mix of race, style and rhythm, of flavours and aromas, this magical archipelago spreads its charm and wafts an enticing breeze around the world, attracting an increasing number of visi-

The average island temperature is 24.6 degrees centigrade tors who are hungry to experience it to the full.

The largest isle in the West Indies, and the tourism destination par excellence in the Caribbean, it offers an enormous diversity of land for different types of tourism and leisure.

The sea and sand holiday programmes are well consolidated but this Caribbean island also offers an array of programmes providing true adventure for those seeking a more active vacation.

The white, sandy beaches and warm, safe waters compete with each other in beauty and variety.

They can be immensely long ; surrounded by low mountains or high cliffs, but all are spectacular.

The entire year they are bathed by sun and waiting to welcome

the body and soul of visitors looking for soft warm sand to lie on or those curious to discover their deeper secrets.

This island has over 300 kilometres of natural beaches. And in addition to this enormous variety are the keys, as seductive as anything one has ever dreamed of.

The average island temperature is 24,6 degrees centigrade with the white, sandy Cuban beaches and clear waters constantly providing a unique attraction for visitors.

There are beaches for everyone from West to East: María la Gorda and Key Levisa (Pinar del Río), Playas del Este in Havana (just 20 minutes from the capital); Varadero (Matanzas), Key North in Ciego de Avila (Cayos Coco and Guillermo)

Varadero is by far the most popular and beautiful of all the beaches and Villa Clara (Keys Santa María, Ensenacho yand Las Brujas); Ancón, in Trinidad; Rancho Luna, in Cienfuegos; Santa Lucía, in Camagüey; Guardalavaca, Esmeralda and Pesquero, in Holguín; Marea del Portillo (Granma); and the beaches of Baconao, in Santiago de Cuba.

The list continues but is interminable and while the above list is not complete, it contemplates the most popular ones with the

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preferente · World Travel Market · November 2011

most beautiful being Varadero with twenty kilometres of white sandy beach, over 50 hotels offering over 14.000 beds, an international air-

port and the country’s only professional golf course.

Exhuberant nature, age-old traditions and history go hand in hand on an island covering 110 square kilometres, with 5.800 kilometres of coastline.

The holiday offer is diverse: modern and ancient cities, culture, architecture, heritage, congress and incentive offers, diving, fishing, health tourism; but by far the most popular segment is that of sea and sand, for which Cuba is renowned.

But the island has much more: it is authentic, like its people; attractive, like its beaches; surprising, like its cities; contrating, like its nature; and admirable, like its culture. Cuba is a synthesis of wealth where, among other bounties, there are beaches for everyone.

Excess cruise in the Mediterranean?

OFERTA. Some 50 liners sail its waters to satisfy growing demand

Simón Villanueva

The number of cruise ships sailing the Mediterranean this summer, totalling almost 50 in number just counting those who promote their offers in Spain, may make one consider that perhaps the market runs a risk of reaching saturation point, although the Managing Director of the specialist agency Crucemar Cruceros, Mariano González Santiso, considers there is still a long way to go. And why?: growing European demand, but above all, demand from North America which, according to his own words “until now has concentrated on the Caribbean routes, but is now awakening an interest in the Mediterranean as the root of civilization”. To this can be added the experience that the national market is acquiring for the Spaniard, as Santiso comments “first tries out a Mediterranean cruise and after a positive experience then selects other regions thanks to the wide offer available”. Therefore, “and in spite of it currently representing 80 percent of the market, it will slowly balance out to register a 60-40 figure in regard to other seas”. It counts in its favour “a wide spectrum of products adapted to every level of demand and spending power, and the best value for money with a very high level of client satisfaction, resulting in many repeat guests and new clients who book through word of mouth”..

34

So favourable winds are blowing for cruises, althouth the MD of Crucemar also admits that prices like those offered over the past summer “have never been seen before, and have resulted in a surge in passengers, but is production growing at the same rate? Good prospects on the Spanish market in the light of a future economic recovery have encouraged shipping companies to invest in their fleet ,building large liners that must be filled, but at what cost? Norwegian Cruise Line, for example, has ordered two liners each with a capacity for 4.000 passengers to be ready in the spring of 2013 and 2014. Prior to this, Costa Cruceros inaugurated its new insignia ship, Costa Fascinaso, within its expansion plans that were presented in the year 2000 with a budget of 9.600 million euros and with which it hopes to reach a number of 16 ships to carry 9.5 million passenger by 2012. This figure represents a 5.5 percent increase over the nine million cruise passengers -one million from Spain- that will be carried aboard the company‘s 14 ships on the Mediterranean in 2011 with itineraries involving 2.800 ports of call in 92 destinations, 17 of these in Spain. This represents a growth of 33 percent over 2010, and the base ports in Spain are Barcelona, Valencia and Malaga.

0MSC Cruceros, with nine ships on the Mediterranean, will add Bilbao and A Coruña this year as ports of embarka-

preferente · World Travel Market · November 2011

The market has much room to grow due to European demand and, above all, the North American market tion, besides adding new ports of call at Cartagena, Ceuta, Mahon and Palamós.

In this way, after increasing passenger numbers in Spain by 15 percent in 2010, reaching 77.000, the company hopes to grow by a further 10 percent, to reach 85.000. To achieve this and to satisfy the different market niches, they have launched new offers adapted to

every profile. The company Royal Caribbean has placed eight of its 22 ships on the Mediterranean sea, among these are Liberty of the Seas, the largest in the region, which is based in Barcelona.

This shipping company has definitely wagered on Spain and proof of this is its decision to commence operations from Valencia, a port easier for clients from Madrid thanks to the new AVE high speed connection. The company also maintains Malaga as base port for the Adventure of the Seas, where it is the largest ship. Of the 468.000 passenger places offered this year on the Mediterranean, with almost half departing from Spanish ports, can be added the 118.470 aboard the four Celebrity Cruises ships, the company‘s premium brand, which this year has placed the Celebrity Solstice in Barcelona from where it organises 3 itineraries, catering for 25.900 passengers.

Norwegian Cruise Line has also had its largest and most innovative ship in the port of Barcelona this year and it will remain until October. This is the Norwegian Epic, with 4.100 beds and an itinerary of seven nights in the western Mediterranean -an itinerary it will repeat next spring.

Both this and the Norwegian Jade, which sails to Venice and the Greek Islands, offers something for every type of client thanks to the ‚Freestyle Cruising‘ concept with berths exclusively designed for single travellers and specific offers for families. The Norwegian Epic also organised the theme cruise ‚Nickelodeon All Access‘ with Bob Sponge and his friends, and children as the true protagonists. On Iberocruceros the real protagonists are the four ships sailing the Mediterranean, with the novelties being Valencia as base port, the new destinations of the Grand Voyager, Grand Mistral and Grand Celebration, together with the specials and the mini-cruises. The Mediterranean offer is completed with the ‚Mediterranean Treasures‘ route aboard the Ocean Pearl owned by Happy Cruises, which caters for 1.070 passengers with departures from Valencia and Barcelona; and another two routes in the eastern Mediterranean aboard the Happy Dolphin which caters for 650 passengers. Likewise, Pullmantur has operated this summer with one cruise in the western Mediterranean and two in the eastern Mediterranean.