23
MEET IN EDICIÓN ESPECIAL FERIAS 2021 / SPECIAL EDITION SHOWS 2021 WHAT
We’re talking about an industry –tour-
ism in general and business travel in
particular, the largest contributor to
Spanish wealth, that has been complete-
ly paralysed in recent months and that
now, little by little, is just beginning to re-
cover. According to analysts, there is still
a long way to go until full recovery, sev-
eral years, which in order to be achieved
requires a safe, competitive proposal,
adapted to the new customer who is the
result of the health crisis, lockdown and
teleworking. It’s time to get to work.
L
et’s talk numbers. According to the World & Tourism
Council ( ), tourism is the economic sector that
contributes the most wealth to the Spanish economy,
with a total of, million euros per year, that is, . of
its GDP. at’s almost. million jobs.
If we refer to business travel, suce it to say that Spanish
companies invest. billion euros in business trips, accord-
ing to . ese gures are as voluminous as the serious-
ness of -’s impact on this sector. Some experts place
the accumulated losses at around billion since the news
of a strange virus –unknown to date–, began to arrive from
China.
The industry, on a global scale, is at a crossroads, since
this crisis of immense proportions is not only economic in
nature, like that of, but also includes the uncertainty of
the evolution of the disease, as well as the national and re-
gional restrictions that directly attack a fundamental aspect
of the industry: mobility.
A Fresh Start
All those involved, including the traveller themselves, are
aware that nothing will be the same. Not only because of
the adoption of new safety protocols and health regula-
tions, but also because the customer has changed over
these months. e industry is currently being monitored
constantly, not only in regard to the present health situ-
ation and legislation, but its main asset as well: the cus-
tomer. One example is the large amount of research that
companies and institutions are conducting to map out an
X-ray of the “post-” traveller.
A new beginning is possible, the industry has overcome
major bumps in the road in recent decades, but two things
are now necessary. First o, state and supranational aid, such
as that from the EU. For months, groups such as airlines, ac-
commodation, meeting centres or complementary services
have been demanding direct aid and not lines of credit with
good terms.
Experts estimate, referring to business travel, that the
levels of will take three or four years to recover, and
place the real start of the comeback in mid-. at’s a
big chunk of time that will have passed since February/
March of, and help is of the essence. e extension of
furloughs is one of the best-known measures, but it’s just
one variable. It’s very dicult to make economic plans and
forecasts when, for example, there isn’t a widespread vac-
cine yet, which is getting closer by the day but has yet to
arrive.
In addition to the absence of activity, mobility restrictions,
delays in payments and capacity limitations, there is also the
mandatory retrotting activities to adapt to hygiene/health
measures to guarantee maximum safety, and which repre-
sent a major investment. Logically, this expense is not dis-
puted, because it is precisely this aspect, safety, which has
become fundamental for the new traveller when choosing
between dierent destinations and providers.
A signicant example is that carried out by around twen-
ty agencies specialising in incentive trips and events that
have come together to create the “Covid Safe Incentive &
Event” seal, with health and legal safety protocols for the
entire itinerary, until the market is fully reopened. Among
its initiatives is the so-called “health passport” for incen-
tive groups, a digital record of the traveller’s most relevant
health attributes.
With regard to the large meeting centres and fairs, practi-
cally all of them, such as the huge Ifema (Madrid) and Fira
(Barcelona), already have protocols and measures in place
that have allowed them to host dierent activities, as a way
of trying to regain their level of business. It’s a start.
On the other hand, one of the worst hit sectors, along with
transportation in all of its forms, is accommodation. And it’s
working hard to make a comeback. In May, the twelve proto-
