• Travel: The world behind Thomas Cook: How tourism on demand has revolutionized tourism

On Sunday, September 22, while tour operator Thomas Cook negotiated a ransom to avoid bankruptcy, businessman Miquel Fluxá, owner of the Iberostar chain and one of the richest Spaniards in the world, led a rescue plan for the British group .

"In the short term, we had to fight for Thomas Cook not to break," he says. That Sunday the Spanish businessmen of the large hotel groups were contacted. The plan was to convert the group's debt into company shares. So that of those 200 million they needed to avoid ruin, at least 100 million could be taken out of Spanish hotels.

"But the United Kingdom did not want to support the company," laments the businessman, who believes that with Thomas Cook, a period is closed. "There has been a major change in the marketing of travel, but this is adjusting," he says.

As explained, in Iberostar 30% of sales are made through the web, and then some platforms such as Expedia or Booking absorb another important part. "The tour operator is less and less important, but it can continue in beach destinations, where they have 30, 40% of sales," he says.

The businessman believes that the hotel sector, if it has problems with the tour operators that sell part of the rooms, can react, for example, with offers on its website. "Thomas Cook's problem is that he had very heavy structures from previous years and did not have the ability to react to change all this in time."

Connectivity

Iberostar was the most important supplier of the British group, but the businessman believes that from now on the sector has to look forward and not regret what has been lost. It establishes a list of priorities, among which is to guarantee the air connection to the Canary Islands.

Tour operator airlines were flying to the archipelago, which also has another problem with Ryanair, which plans to close its bases in Tenerife and Gran Canaria in January, so travelers would also lose part of these links.

The equation, for Fluxá, is simple: «If there are no seats in the airplanes, there are no clients in the hotels. What is clear is that the client will come anyway, and now it will come through other channels. What needs to be resolved is the short-term impact of bankruptcy ».

Iberostar, in the reservations that are entering them in recent weeks, is already seeing the positive impact of two measures: the rescue of Condor by the German Government and the fact that some airlines have announced that they open flights to the Canary Islands.

"This is a very important help." He believes that Ryanair has a golden opportunity to rethink his decision to close the bases in the Canary Islands. «People, if they want to go to the destination, will go and look for another way. Connectivity is vital for this. There is no despair, it is a business with a future that in difficult situations we suffer little, we do not have to tear your clothes ».

strong industry

In the medium term each company will launch its own commercial strategy, although the impact on small hotels is more worrying. For large chains that have other contracts and strategies "do not have an impact not even in the short term."

The giant's bankruptcy has ended a difficult season. Spain has "a very strong industry", with 82 million passengers last year, "with a first-class airport infrastructure that no one has, the weather, the quality of the hotels ...".

«Going on vacation to a country where you can find four-star hotels for 80 euros a night and all-inclusive is not easy. We should not be alarmed because the situation will continue to be good in the tourism sector. It is difficult to find a real estate business, such as the hotel, which is both a business in itself ».

SLOWDOWN.

In the slowdown in the arrival of tourists to Spain has had much to do with the political situation: between Brexit (United Kingdom is our main issuing market), the problems of Government in Italy, the impending recession in Germany and the uncertainty of new ones elections in Spain.

"All these have influenced tourism, but these factors will not always be there," says the businessman.

There are industries that are going through difficult times, but this is not the case with tourism. «Today in Spain companies are more capitalized and this does not happen».

«Political instability does not help, the country's solution is at the center. We will see a PSOE that is focusing and a PP that is focusing. and there we have to go, it is the solution for Spain ».

Fluxá goes from the general to the particular. From context to the evolution of its hotel chain. In four years they plan to invest more than 1,000 million euros in different projects and this year the turnover of the hotel group will be in figures similar to those of the previous year "or slightly lower". «We have been very little affected. That has merit, while we wait for the general situation to improve.

Do not go to mature areas

They have projects in the Caribbean, Aruba, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Peru. «Money is not a problem what is missing are coherent and profitable projects. We do not want to go to supermature areas to do a megahotelen Rivera Maya. This is not a success because there is excess supply. But if you invest properly, the profitability is correct ».

People do not stop going on vacation. What worries the entrepreneur is that there are hotels that are now tempted to lower quality. That is the biggest mistake we can make. It is essential to maintain the excellent quality and price ratio we have. The other would totally disfigure us ».

He believes that the sector must try not to lower prices excessively. This year Iberostar has a revenue increase of 11% and a decrease in the average price of 3%, so that "the year will be positive." «If we maintain that price policy, tourism will recover. The most important companies in the sector are with important investment plans ».

This year the average stay has risen and also the price. According to the data for the month of August published a week ago, hotel overnight stays grew 1.5% and the price, 2.1%.

“The hotel sector has to maintain quality, because we have a differential with respect to our competitors and in some destinations you can only be in the hotel, but Spain is different. A lot of work has been done in the last 40 years ».

Unlike what many entrepreneurs in the sector believe, Fluxá believes that we are not witnessing a change in tourism model and that Spain will not cease to be a sun and beach destination. He believes that this can be complemented with more culture, gastronomy, but our reason for being is another.

"Everything is complementary, but there is no change of model, tourism is and will be sun and beach, although there is everything else," he says.

SUN AND BEACH

He gives an example of when he started, when the French grandeur dominated European tourism and the best restaurants had French chefs. Today in the kitchens, they are Spanish.

«Scandinavian tourism, for example, values ​​Spanish cuisine and that demonstrates the evolution that our country is having. This has not been done in two days, but with time and much effort.

There is one issue with which Fluxá is especially combative, and it is climate change and the strategy of companies to make tourism a sustainable business. Because our beaches are the claim of many of those 82 million tourists who visit us.

In Iberostar they have removed single-use plastics for customers, there is also a laboratory where the impact is studied. "There are obvious trials such as the last hurricanes that have been so brutal and this is the consequence of our sins."

He believes that the eco-tax is poorly focused because what he collects "is not invested in important things." “It is incredible that a country with 82 million tourists does not improve the issue of waste that is thrown into the sea. We represent between 20 and 30% contribution to GDP, that we don't take care of the environment anymore is disastrous ».

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Know more

  • Spain
  • Thomas Cook
  • Canary Islands
  • Ryanair
  • United Kingdom
  • Peru
  • PSOE
  • PP
  • Mexico
  • Germany
  • Cuba
  • GDP
  • Italy

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