SUMMARY World Travel Market 2004 Special 681216 The British prefer Challenge: the Tour operators Large strategic Cyprus, the Caribbean battle against delay 2005 alliances arise and Florida for their seasonal tourism contracting in tourism winter holidays 18 The Costa Brava is “obsolete and expensive” 28 The low cost tourism revolution for First Choice 30‘Joker holidays’ alleviate the uncertainty of last 19 Countdown has begun for the Almería 2005 minute bookings Mediterranean Games 32 Sea and sand tourism has been the winner in 20Spain still the favourite destination with the summer 2004 British, for now 34 Enotourism, a burgeoning sector on the 22 Internet is now the cheapest option when national market booking accommodation 36Tourist entertainment, a differentiating element 24 New destinations for the experienced traveller in an ever increasing competitive market 26Spain, increasingly difficult to sell for city tour 38 Early booking with more discounts than ever in operators Germany Published by: Publisher: Translation: Administration: 20 Canarias S.L. RAFAEL CABALLERO Louise Davis Teresa Llabrés Editor: Photographs: C/ Aguere, 11 2ª A Advertising: Emilio Lubrín Ana Gómez 38005 Santa Cruz de Tenerife Ana Gómez Assistant Editor: Tel. +34 922 230 438 Distribution: Sandra Díaz http://www.preferente.com Eduardo Suárez del Real Laura Planisi [email protected] Co-ordinator: Karina González Printing, layout and design: Gemma Marchena Pablo Fernández Gráficas Planisi S.A. In only a short period of time, the a landscape of high mountains; name of Costa Adeje has consoli- gorges sheltering many samples of dated itself on the international mar- the Canaries endemic flora; an his- ket. Its innovative projects are gen- torical heritage such as can be ob- erating enormous expectation in served in the parish church of San- both private and public sectors. ta Úrsula or the Adeje Convent. Miguel Ángel Santos remains pru- One things which springs to the dent but affirms that Costa Adeje eye of a visitor to Adeje is a translu- is already of great future value. cent image of a network of complicity The town of Adeje lies on Tener- which has been set in perpetual mo- ife’s southern point and at its feet, tion. Social services, companies, and bathed by the warm waters of the At- local authorities, under the direction lantic ocean is Costa Adeje, a tourist of the Local Tourism Authority, have resort of excellence. joined forces to design the strate- Costa Adeje is a new concept gies required in bestowing Costa- where quality is the key word. Here Adeje with qualities such as the in- the environment is carefully pro- tegral quality of its surroundings, its tected by strategic plans, for nature waters, its means of transport, its tra- is the greatest heritage of mankind. dition, and a future which will be sus- Its wealth lies in its many contrasts; tainable for future generations. We are no longer distances from ity International España, S.A. This municipality incorporates a new di- the world of information and knowl- recognition responds to the effective vision of the tourism industry, one edge, and therefore training is an introduction of an Environmental which grew 50% in the Canaries last added and necessary value when of- Management System which allows year. This addition will undoubt- fering quality of service. Thus, two the Town Hall to carry out a contin- edly become one of the interna- years ago. The Adeje Development ual assessment of its handling of en- tional focal points for profession- Company was founded, a project vironmental issues. But Adeje’s de- al meetings. The hall will seat 4.000 combining the forces of local au- termination to take care of the envi- and be equipped with the latest thorities and private enterprise with ronment reaches further, as can be ap- telecommunication and technical a will to innovate using the latest preciated by the four blue flags attained apparatus. fields of knowledge, in moral and by three beaches and one marina, and Tourism is no longer simply an ethical values, to define new strate- not forgetting the distinction for Life economical reference but is a so- gies of teaching and to unify tourism Saving and First Aid. cial expression which affects us all. training according to the different The imminent inauguration of the The journey and destination are part employees and companies’ needs. five star hotel Sheraton La Caleta on and parcel of human behaviour. Cos- The municipality’s commitment to the seafront is evidential proof of ta Adeje works for quality through excellence in all spheres relating to a commitment to excellence with the innovation, improvement, and the tourism inevitably embraces envi- backing of a solid, prestigious, in- care of the environment. A visit to ronmental issues and proof of this is ternational company. Adeje is therefore a safe investment the recently awarded ISO14001 cer- With the future Costa Adeje for our leisure moments. tificate from the Bureau Veritas Qual- Convention Hall the Challenge: the battle against seasonal tourism Cehat proposes measures to alleviate high season demand Vivi Hinojosa/Madrid which to achieve minimum viabil- Díaz Montañés, “the demand is companied by “a change in mar- ity is forced to raise prices which there”. The opposite occurs in inland keting strategy, so that the private Weakness in our traditional endangers the competitiveness of destinations where he suggests they sector is more involved in the cam- source markets, the British due to the destination”. should “create products, promote paigns launched by Turespaña and the strength of the euro, and the Ger- Businesses are therefore pro- them and market them so that vis- the different regional authorities, be- man whose economic recovery is posing measures to battle against itors also stay mid-week and not cause such a concentration of re- taking longer than expected, has a seasonal tourism in towns, in tourism solely at weekends”. Finally, for sources would result in a more ef- negative influence accentuating sea- inland and on the coast. In towns, those tourist resorts deeply suffer- ficient promotion aimed at the areas sonal demand. If one adds to this the where the offer has grown at a ing due to the seasonal market, he with greatest potential”. In order to increase in national clientele, ac- greater speed than the demand, with requests greater effort in promo- achieve this, he says “it is vital to customed to limiting their travel to the consequent decrease in occu- tional campaigns which are more have access to the statistics which the summer period, and to whom all pancy caused by such an imbalance, specialised and which encompass the Administration handles”. This, holiday destinations have now they suggest making great market- a complementary offer totally un- for example, would help them bet- turned in an effort to counteract the ing efforts to attract visitors, not on- related to the traditional beach hol- decrease in international visitors, ly professional travellers who fill iday, such as sport, health or na- Public and private the result is a high occupancy lev- their rooms mid-week, but the city ture, together with a firm grip on el forecast for the summer but one break market to also occupy beds costs, with the help and support of sectors must work hand which will fall dramatically once at weekends, as has been done suc- new technologies. in hand in promotional the season has ended. Hoteliers cessfully in cities such as Barcelona These initiatives, according to the campaigns, according know only too well that a concen- and Bilbao because, according to Chairman of Cehat must be ac- tration of tourism in the summer to the hoteliers months not only represents a seri- ous problem for the industry, but al- ter adapt to the tastes and require- so for society as a whole. In this ments of the new type of client us- vein, José Guillermo Díaz Mon- ing the Internet to tailor their own tañés, Chairman of Cehat (Span- holiday package, a market in which, ish Confederation of Hotels and according to the Chairman of the Tourist Accommodation) voiced his Mallorca Hotel Federation and Vice- opinion when he stated that “it af- President of Cehat, Pere Cañellas, fects municipalities who have se- “ the industry needs to make use of rious difficulty in attending all the the competitive advantage of its visitors; and hotels, who are unable know how against other less evolved to run a profitable business with on- destinations, to thus obtain profit ly four months of high occupancy; from the great changes which the likewise, the complementary offer tourist industry is experiencing”. 6 preferente · World Travel Market · November 2004 Canarias. Caribe. The British prefer Cyprus, the Caribbean and Florida for their winter holidays Tour operators have sold less packages to Spain this winter Cristina Fernández/Londres continue to be a competitive desti- nation and hoteliers must not in- British tour operators have closed crease prices further. “Spain has be- the winter season with a signifi- come incredibly expensive. Hote- cant drop in package holiday sales liers have exploited this situation for to Spain although, in accordance the past ten years with annual in- with the latest figures, the situa- creases of ten percent. We need them tion is not the same in all holiday to drop rates if interest in the des- destinations as the large British tour tination is to be maintained” states operators have explained that the Curtis. Balearics has been the worst hit In reply to a query regarding the while the drop on mainland Spain risk of offering poorer service to the has not been so marked. Cuba. client if prices are lowered, Cur- Statistically, the Canaries have tis believes that everything depends registered a six percent drop, main- tion to sell” states Ian Derbyshire, seen a drop in demand, especially on the profit margins hoteliers are land Spain one percent and the Sales Manager for Thomas Cook, the Costa Blanca.