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2030: Tourism industry will undergo the greatest transformation of all time
THR held on January 20 the THR Forum entitled “2030: Great opportunities and challenges for companies and tourist destinations and how to benefit from it”, within the framework of the week of the International Tourism Fair of Madrid (FITUR).
To start the forum, Ms.Gloria Guevara, president and CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) offered some introductory words. “We will continue to grow in our sector. From four billion passengers, according to IATA, the figure will double; the question is, where is that growing going to be? Who is going to capitalize on it?” asked Guevara. Additionally, she explained the 3 tourist industry challenges: security and travel facilitation; crisis preparation, management and recovery; and sustainable development.
Mr. Abel Matutes, president of Mesa del Turismo, was in charge of the inauguration act, where he remarked: “Spain has three pending subjects regarding the societies and nations around it: employment, public deficit and current account of the balance of payments deficit, that is, from the foreign sector. The contribution of tourism to the improvement of these deficits has been essential”.
“Spain, which in number of overnight stays is the world’s first tourism destination, has magnificent assets and key competencies to continue to succeed in this business by exploiting the excellent opportunities presented to it”, said Eulogio Bordas, president of the THR firm, as an introduction to give way to the presentations.
Throughout the forum, partners and managers of THR presented in a practical way strategies, solutions and ideas for Spanish tourism companies and destinations to be able to adapt to the new scenarios and maintain their prosperity.
“Tourism companies and destinations should have, more than ever, good competitiveness that allows them to generate a performance that is equal to or greater than that of their direct rivals. Otherwise, they will not be able to reinvest and remain among the winners. And all this will depend on their business model” explained Christophe de Bruyn, THR CEO.
Sonia Huerta, manager of marketing practice for companies and destinations at THR, explained that tourism destinations and industries are being exposed to new and interesting business opportunities derived from five factors: a good growth in demand, the emergence of new needs, segments and issuing markets and the mistakes made by the competitors.
For his part, Eulogio Bordas explained during his intervention: “The next decade will be very promising for those who know how to exploit it. But it will be convulsive at the same time. The sector will experience the turbulences associated with the transformations that will have to be carried out. Well-executed Strategic Plans will be an excellent weapon to be among the winners”.
Some horizontal projects that could help create more value for the Spanish tourism industry as a whole and maintain its competitiveness and international leadership is what Javier González, THR director of operations, presented during the session. “A strategy is the most effective way to manage each of these key issues, and the way in which we take the strategy to action is a strategic plan”, he added.
The event also featured a first discussion panel composed by Germán Porras, General Secretary of Mesa del Turismo; Isabel Muela, Vice Minister of Tourism of Euskadi; Octavi Bono, General Director of Tourism of Catalonia; Manuel Pablo Muñoz, General Secretary for Tourism of the Junta de Andalucía; Maribel Rodríguez, Vice President of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), and Ramón Estalella, General Secretary of CEHAT, who responded to the new ways of leading and developing tourism in Spain from the administration, in view of the new scenarios.
In the marketing field, the second and last discussion panel relied on Ignacio Vasallo, Founder of Tourspain; César Torras, Strategic Planning Director of DEC-BBDO; Toni Bernabé, Director of Turismo Valencia; Sara Pastor, EMEA Director of ADARA and Ignasi de Delàs, Deputy Director of Turisme de Barcelona. This panel offered answers to what is the marketing that tourism companies and destinations need to carry out for the next decade.