The future of travel and tourism as an engine of economic recovery, With this premise in mind, the first of the three days of Condé Nast Traveler Conversations. Still immersed in a global pandemic and seeing how the world takes its first steps to find its new normal, the tourism sector is beginning to unravel the answers that will shed light on a future that looks positive but is still uncertain.
Today we have talked about business trips, hybrid events, weddings and honeymoon trips, corporate trips... And a message is extracted from all the conversations of optimism, of desire, of passion, of the revaluation of specialized travel agencies and the need for human contact and pampering each other.
Divia Thani, Global Director of Condé Nast Traveler, and David Moralejo, Director of Condé Nast Traveler Spain, They welcomed the virtual attendees, trusting that in 2022 the third edition of these Conversations will be face-to-face and enjoying the much-desired normality.
"For me it is an honor to address your industry. Personally it is very exciting, I have been to Spain several times in the past and I am from a country (India) that shares so much with you: the love for food, for music, the dance...", commented Thani in his opening speech.
"I think we are facing a unprecedented opportunity for the tourism sector , with everyone thinking about when will be the moment when we will be able to travel again. The trip has gone from being a privilege to a necessity and I really believe that we will go from having lived a summer in which we could not do it to a new one in which we will do it for the first time. One where the old will be new," she continued.
"I also want to communicate and assure the tourism sector in Spain that they will have our full support along with David Moralejo. This year we have seen a global increase in our digital readers and that shows us that we are more connected and close than ever".
Quico Taronji , presenter of the Conversations since its first edition, recalled that in June 2020 we talked about the future of the tourism sector digitally, something that was new at the time.
"A year later, we are at another point, circumstances have changed and we continue with doubts, but we still keep one word in our heads: uncertainty. What is going to happen as hoteliers, users, travellers? What is going to happen in the face of summer "Will the vaccine give us oxygen? Will September come and will we really see the light at the end of the tunnel?" "The Darwin of Events: Redefining MICE Travel" , conversation moderated by Fernando Alonso Sanz , an expert in brand experiences and joined by David Noak Perez , Director of Madrid Convention Bureau; Mary Rose King , Meetings and Events Director Spain NH Hotel Group / Vice President Membership MPI and Ruth Larraz , Sales Director of the Four Seasons Hotel Madrid.
"The Darwin of events It means that the one who survives, or the most intelligent, is not the strongest, but the one who adapts", explained Alonso Sanz. "What have we learned from the hybrid events that we can apply to face-to-face events in the future?" he asked the speakers.
Measure the interaction of users and adapt them, incorporate characters from another country or in another part of the world thanks to the technology either facilitate communication were some of the benefits that came to light, showing that if there is something that this type of event has not been able to replicate, it is the contact during breaks, the networking between coffees and meetings and the face-to-face interaction.
"Technology has always been an ally of hybrid events. It is something innate. Darwin is that, turn little by little, but it is clear that we need to get together, see each other and create engagement. As much as technology helps us, we need to go back to Contact face to face with security measures," explained María Rosa Rey.
"Another of the elements in which the hybrids have not been able to help is the time zone , a factor that there is no way to address if it is not face-to-face , so it cannot be left, in the future, everything in the hands of virtual events", commented Noack Pérez.
"We cannot limit ourselves to the conference and the content, there is a very important human part: synergies, networking... and that can only be done in person. I think they will not skimp on going back to face-to-face meetings," Larraz contributed.
In our second conversation, titled "The New Socialization" , we have analyzed the organization of weddings and travel honeymooners, a sector that has had to develop flexibility, adaptability and imagination to circumstances that change every day and depending on the place. "A wedding in Andalusia has nothing to do with one in Cantabria or the Balearic Islands," he says. Eva Iglesias , director of Bodas Colorín.
However, what is clear is that the most affected are the times. “Weddings are now last minute . All the bride and groom are afraid to send the invitations now because of what might happen”. Despite this, after the end of the state of alarm, although the situation remains unstable, he is much more optimistic. “This week we will see a lot of invitation mailings.”
The ability to adapt is being such that Pilar Fernandez de Troconiz , owner of the Castillo de Buen Amor, in Salamanca, qualifies as "heroes" both the couples who have gone ahead and have chosen to marry and those who have decided postpone your wedding.
Also Celebration spaces like yours have had to adapt. “But the weddings we celebrated last year were the most special. The atmosphere was very, very exciting.”
And it is that, getting married in 2020, as the director of Bodas Colorín also thinks “has been brave. But the weather has been the pear. Very exciting and without so many commitments”.
Because now weddings are smaller, more intimate and familiar , with few guests, the fair ones, and in fully rented spaces. This is a trend that I had already anticipated Ramiro Jofre, the king of weddings (and events) more exclusive, to the journalist Cristina Ruiz Montesinos (aka Casilda marries) in an interview conducted three years ago. “And there are many people who are thanking this because they are saving many commitments”, points out the journalist.
The situation of uncertainty and instability that we live in has valued the work of the wedding planner, a figure that, perhaps, was not fully understood. “Now the bride and groom know that they are going to need a plan B and that's what we're here for, to be able to improvise successfully”, summarizes Eva Iglesias.
The importance of being accompanied by a travel agency of trust in the advice and organization of honeymoon trips, the last piece of any wedding celebration.
“In Spain we have detected that the couples of boyfriends are throwing by national special destinations , for renting hotels like the Castillo del Buen Amor or a boat to sail around the Balearic Islands –right now, for example, there are no longer any catamarans available in the Mediterranean–, or for private villas in Mexico and the Caribbean. places where you can do what you want safely . The important thing is exclusivity and privacy, it does not matter if they are in closer destinations. You can make very nice trips without going so far”, he assures Louis of Peace , founder of MundoExpedición and BespokeTravelSpain, who is also clear that this is only circumstantial because “people travel to meet people and exchange experiences, not just to be in a private villa”.
It is clear that we want to travel. Many. So many that, by the end of 2020, 50% of regular business travelers said they were looking forward to packing again.
This is the usual feeling and the speakers of our third conversation of the day: "Business trips and bleisure. Teambuilding and incentives". In Finca Cortesin , one of the most exclusive luxury hotels in our country, reservations have increased even more than expected, as reported by its general manager, Rene Zimmer.
“You can see that the first thing on everyone's wish list is to travel. Before the pandemic there was already great interest in this combination of business and pleasure trips , but now we see even more not only the desire but the need to combine both. That is why we strive to offer very large spaces with strong and stable internet and an offer of leisure and wellness in which contact with nature is important”.
At Finca Cortesín, which reopened on March 25, they have also noticed the increase in the average stay in the hotel: “Before, the most common thing was a short break of two or three days and now the minimum is usually five days, a week or even two”. A resort with soaring ceilings, large outdoor spaces with a variety of sports activities and well-cared-for wellness, yoga and meditation areas awaits you.
Perhaps for this reason the demand is directed more towards the hotels outside the city “that offer original proposals and experiences and activities in the open air”, he points out Robert Castan , founder of the agency hospitality and experiential events bitterness . "Now we seek to carry out activities not so much in the city but within the hotel itself."
In the business and corporate travel the clear need for contact, to strengthen teams, is also noticeable, highlighted Laura Durán, co-founder of the agency specializing in luxury travel for companies Free Travel Day.
“Perhaps many people are too lazy to return to the office, we have become accustomed to working from home, but After all this time confined, it is essential to work as a team again and, in that sense, the trips of incentives and team building they are a valuable tool. Whoever you ask, everyone likes to travel. Of course, for now they will not be team building trips as we knew them, but rather a hybrid”.
Hybrids and increasingly sustainable. “On Travel Free Day we have a person in charge of analyzing and calculating the CO2 per person. Our clients demand it of us”.
Another fact that is clear in corporate travel is the need to have good professionals behind it, with a reliable travel agency. “We have returned to you to you. Now they call us more than ever. They need someone physical to tell them how to proceed. All the agencies and travelers that were previously 100% online, have once again needed a person behind them. The first approach is online, but then it continues from person to person”, says Laura Durán.
But what do we look for in a bleisure trip? According to the founder of Amarguería, "there are many people who choose a hotel for a cocktail bar or a restaurant certain. The gastronomic part he's pushing hard."
Gastronomy and, as Laura Durán points out: pamper us It's what we all want. The success of any trip, be it business, leisure, whatever, is that they take care of us”.