These conclusions have been determined in the ITH Innovation Summit 2024 reference forum held on June 11 and 12 in Madrid.
More than 500 professionals from the tourism sector have participated in these two days of debate to discover the latest trends and developments in tourism from experts, who have agreed on the importance of technology and digitalization to promote economic and environmental sustainability of this industry. Representatives of the Administration, hotels, technology firms, consulting firms and others have agreed on the importance of data to improve customer knowledge and their needs and thus offer, thanks to technology
, innovative services and experiences.
The day started with the debate “Social Marketing & Influencers: not everything goes and not everyone works”, where the rules of the game when creating marketing campaigns in RR.SS. have been analyzed. Likewise, the role has been discussed. that influencers and micro-influencers play in the representation of a brand's values. This session has been
moderated by Nani Arenas, a journalist specialized in tourism.
Joan Castillo, Head of Digital at Team Lewis Spain, has pointed out “the importance of knowing the audience, however large it may be, putting it into data, and their digital interlocutor in the company so that they connect, without forgetting the number of reactions and conversions.”
For her part, Antonia Aguiló, Account Director of Belvera Partners, has focused on prescribers for niche markets from a professional point of view. “You have to rely on experts with authority, that is, influencers with many followers. They can be employees of companies that have success stories and experiences that only reach a segment, providing great quality.” Furthermore, she has indicated “that segmentation is essential
to decide who we target and how.”
Carlos Pérez Fur, Marketing Director at Alannia Resorts, has explained the value of content created by clients in social networks, since they are measurable and “make us aware of the positive and negative in order to act.”
The forum continued with “Keys to the success of experiential tourism. The case of Spain” about unique experiences that attract different types of tourists to a destination, where the role of innovation, digitalization and creativity in events are key to the success of a memorable experience. Víctor Iglesias, Events Director of Puy du Fou Spain, has reported that this year there are already more than a million visitors and in Toledo there are barely 4,000 beds, calling on the hotel sector to invest. Iglesias wanted to convey that to create a positive customer experience it is necessary to surprise them with something different and a clear message. For his part, Juan Torregrosa, Corporate Director of Operations at Only You Hotels, commented that “observing the tastes of the client, the employee and the hotel is crucial to position oneself and, with the data extracted, make decisions and make changes.”
Trends in luxury
In the debate “In search of the secret recipe for luxury tourism”, the participants have shared their vision on the evolution of this segment and how it has gone from focusing on exclusive destinations to offering personalized experiences, identifying opportunities and challenges to achieve sustainable and quality tourism. Pablo Fernández, deputy director of Viajar magazine, moderated the table. The speakers have agreed on the importance of completing the sun and beach tourism offer with deseasonalization and experiential initiatives.
Blanca Pérez-Sauquillo, Global Marketing Manager of Turespaña, highlighted that “we no longer talk about luxury tourism, we prefer 'high-value tourists', both economically and because of their way of traveling. We must integrate culture into the travel experience due to its growing demand and approach it in a more experiential way.” She added that, “in addition to the experience being good, customers want it to be exclusive, personalized, complete. "It's not enough to visit museums, they want to experience them."
For his part, Carlos Erburu, general director of Thompson Madrid & Hyatt Centric Madrid, sees the experience “as a whole from the check-in itself. Today everything is digitalized, clients are informed and speak out on the social networks: this must be observed and valued.”
The table on “Positive impact: Buffet Waste. Management of food waste in hotels” has started from a fact: 14% of the annual food waste in Spain comes from hotels, which means economic losses of up to 200 million euros. The speakers discussed whether it is possible to manage food waste without incurring additional costs and the guidelines that technology offers to address this challenge. Everyone has agreed on the importance of involving hotel staff in reducing and revalorizing waste.
Moisés Expósito, Sustainability coordinator at GF Hoteles, has distinguished food waste (inevitable) from waste (avoidable). “Through circular economy processes we can value this resource to make compost, for which the role of employees is fundamental. For his part, Pablo Lorenzo, corporate director of Sustainability, Projects and Efficiency at Lopesan Hotel Group, has pointed out that not throwing away is positive, it is something that the client demands. It is important because it allows purchases to be adapted to demand. Antonio Álvarez, CEO of Visionary Hospitality, has stressed that we should not overproduce or throw away.
This was followed by pitches on “Techno-green trends in hotels: Being cool” and “Sustainable management in the establishment”, where experts from Italsan, Hesperia, Grupo Marugan and Rabmen Group have shown the tools applied in various operational processes that help the sustainable management of the establishment, risk prevention and efficient management of the hotel.
In the block on digital security, Marco Antonio Lozano, head of Cybersecurity Strategic Sectors Tourism, Leisure and Entertainment at INCIBE, has shown initiatives “to provide security to the engine of the Spanish economy, since they are of particular concern to SMEs, which are the least “prepared.” Lozano recalled that the European NIS2 cybersecurity directive must be transposed before next November 24 and that INCIBE offers companies multiple free security services.
The debate “Technology, people and the social impact of tourism” included the participation of Carlos Díez de la Lastra, CEO of Les Roches, Jaime Nardiz, Director of Consulting and Innovation at Great Place to Work, and Edurne Vázquez, COO of Hotelatelier.
Moderated by Adán Robles, Human Design Expert at TRIVU, they have discussed the integration of technology, people and talent retention. They have agreed that young people demand something different from companies than the previous generation and that companies, for their part, have also changed their focus because they seek to improve well-being at a global level, with “people who take care of people.”
In the last table on “Promoting the small hotel business, through advanced distribution” the challenge of access to advanced distribution models that allow significantly improving commercial strategy, planning and even cash flows was analyzed. In this area, Javier Soriano, CEO of Connectycs, Samuel Roses Femerling, e-Commerce & Marketing director at Pirates Village, and Miguel Estarellas, commercial director of H10 Hotels have presented their technological systems and formulas to optimize different business processes. Everyone has agreed on its usefulness whenever it is possible to simplify the service platforms as much as possible to make them user-friendly.
At the closing of the conference, the president of ITH, Javier García Cuenta, highlighted that “these interesting debates have opened our eyes to new possibilities, challenging us to look beyond established limits. The knowledge and experience that we have shared here have been an inexhaustible source of inspiration for all of us.
Héctor Coronel, Director of Tourism of the Madrid City Council, has reported that “8% of Madrid's GDP comes from tourism and that seven out of every 10 tourists are foreigners. This is because Madrid is the capital of capitals, of luxury, scenic culture and sports tourism, events and leisure. “We are a perfect ecosystem to attract talent, develop business schools and extra-academic experiences.”
The event was closed by the Secretary of State for Tourism, Rosario Sánchez Grau, who stated that “this congress is an example of the importance of innovation and digital transformation in the tourism sector and the importance of public-private collaboration, that we have always been aware of in the Government of Spain. Through the
Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan we have launched initiatives to help companies improve their level of digitalization, since only in this way could competitiveness be improved and the sustainable development of tourism possible. We want smart, inclusive and accessible destinations, and we can only achieve that with the absolute involvement of all levels of public administration and companies.”
Fuente: ITH.