Jorge AguilarSEGUIRMadrid Updated: Save Send news by mail electrónicoTu name *
Your email *
email *
The summer goes face to face with its final straight and the tourism will not start. In fact, it is expected that with the new Health measures, quarantine, placed by United Kingdom travelers from Spain and the recommendations of most countries, such as Germany, not to travel to our country the situation worse. We talked about the time you pass the main sector of the Spanish economy with Ricardo Fernández, general director of Destinia, travel agency online. The company has offices in 6 countries and sells online in more than 90, providing more than 1 million of hotels and apartments, and other activities.
What assessment do you make of the crisis?
For the entire industry has been a blank slate. We have lost 30 million visitors and more than 30,000 million euros. We’ve all gone from 100 to 0. For us also, because march, April and may have been months of zero sales, although it has been also an opportunity. The past year we have sold in 90 countries, we made internationalization very strong, and we have tried to take advantage of that not all markets have fallen at the same speed to grow in markets that are less relevant.
How have the sales of the summer?
In July, compared with last year, we sold a 60% average, so we lost a 40. Now August depends on how they affect the flare-ups. Right now our expectations are to be at 75%, because in the last two weeks are making a lot of sales of the last few minutes. The people, for a issue psychological, is seeing that you will certainly have locks and would prefer to go on holiday now for a few days. The immediate reservation is growing a lot.
What is the news had to deploy in the reserves in the wake of the pandemic?
We were the first to bring a safe anti Covid, but has not been a product sold. Level hotel itself has worked well, but the people what he has done in our case is passed to the booking 100% refundable. We’ve past the 90% of the bookings are refundable and that 60% of the bookings are done from the same day which reserves to four days. That is to say, the Monday-Tuesday people look at what destinations are more secure and make your reservations to come on Friday. That is what has given security to the people: last minute booking and refundable fee. The insurance has not had much success.
Ricardo Fernández, general director of Destinia – ABC
What percentage do you have of international tourists and national?
In July, the international market was 25% for the further opening of the tourism. After the news of the quarantine we are in August at a 10%. The 90% is national client. This causes the volume to be less. We are affected less by being online. Because of the 100% of reservations are made, the half is done in the agencies physical. As these are recovering more slowly, there is a part of that piece of the pie that has moved to the online world.
what Is Spain the most affected country of the crisis?
At the international level, totally. Countries such as Portugal, Italy and Spain, 85% of the reservations made for their own country. But if we look at the Uk and Germany, only 15% is for its national quota, while for Spain this share is smaller than in other years. There are destinations such as Portugal, Greece and Turkey at the level destination Spain have stolen many tourists from northern Europe. As a destination we have lost almost all of the international customer.
do The recovery may come in 2021?
it’s Going to depend on. For all the digital sector, to the end of the year and the beginning of 2021, if there are no major flare-ups, we could retrieve. For the hotel companies and those that are more attached to the destination may have to wait at the end of 2021 and early 2022.
What are the preferred destinations?
In Spain there are destinations in the north that are working very well, kind Sanxenxo, galicia and Asturias. But at the level of volume, destinations winners are always: Benidorm, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Torremolinos, Roquetas de Mar and Mallorca. For the Spanish client, about 35% of what you have booked is for islands. And another thing that is relevant is that the share of the international customer has increased from 25% to 52%. There are fewer international tourists, but they come more focused.
are The Spanish customer looks at international destinations?
At the end of June did begin to look at Portugal, southern France and even the Caribbean for the next year. However, these last few weeks has paralyzed everything. The national client is looking for Spain and is waiting for because I think he has the feeling that it can’t make big plans in the medium term because you don’t know what it is that can come to pass. For example, a trip to a european capital, nor it poses. Another interesting fact is that right now there are usually many bookings for September and October. This year, 90% of what you are reserving it for the same August, 9% for September and a 1% for October and later. We have become much more short-term.
So the vacation destination is the one that better is behaving…
Yes, a volume level without a doubt. Although it is true that, compared there are other destinations that have grown. At the end of the holiday you are, the more ability they have to sell.
As it is spoke of that this year looking for more destinations to be of nature…
Yes, and have been the destinations that you first have been exhausted. But in the background there are less beds so I can’t compare it with Benidorm, for example, that has a hundred times more.
Have you changed the preferences of consumers at the time of travel? For example, to avoid crowds and prefer an apartment to a hotel…
at The beginning were exhausted, apartments and destinations separate from the rest of the products. There was that fear. But from that the hotel created this seal of safety and the price of apartments has gone up, the client has been brought back to the hotel. The price increases in apartments have been more brutal.
– level number of nights has not changed the trend. But it has changed the flights have fallen much more than the hotel. People are not looking for flights right now. Almost all are looking for destinations of close proximity, you can go by car, less in the islands. At the level of the mainland, there is no such reserves from other years to flights within the same. The flights to the major european capitals have also disappeared.
The airlines and the hotels have done a lot of sales to capture demand, will take a lot of time as well?
In the world of the airlines as it did before the crisis the prices went up because if not they were not profitable. They have broken more than fifteen in this pandemic. In hotels there has also been price reduction, but it has been depending on the destination. In some there have been increases of 5-10% in the average price per night. The price of the aircraft has to grow to 2021, because if not it is not cost-effective. We have to be clear that flying has a significant cost.
See the comments
