The acting Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, highlighted today the importance of travel agencies during the inauguration of the XIX ACAVe Forum: Infrastructures and economic relations for the advancement of tourism.
The minister highlighted the contribution of agencies to the tourism industry and the need for their participation to achieve seasonally adjusted tourism, streamline tourism demand, facilitate the consumption of destinations and alternative activities, etc. For Reyes Maroto, the success of many of the proposals and initiatives of the Spanish tourism offer depends on the ability of the agencies "to convert our tourism resources into consumable items, into tourism products."
The minister has also indicated that the agencies have adapted to the disruptive changes in the sector, thanks in part to one of its strengths: innovation and tourism intelligence.
The Brexit Challenge
Also, during his speech, Reyes Maroto has referred to the important challenge that Brexit poses. Maroto has listed the measures that the Government has implemented taking the initiative in the accompaniment and support to the tourist business fabric to improve its preparation before an event of magnitude.
Among these measures is the intensification of advertising campaigns in British media and specialized channels to reassure the traveler and tour operator in the United Kingdom about their purchase decisions, and thus maintain the flow of tourists. In June Turespaña activated 'We have Spain in common', a social media campaign whose objective is to build loyalty to British tourists and create a feeling of confidence in the Spanish tourist destination. In addition, on September 6, the minister's council approved 33.3 million for international advertising campaigns, including campaigns that will address the effects of Brexit.
Need for a new tourist model
Finally, the minister has reviewed other challenges facing the sector, which require the redefinition of the role of tourism policies and the development of new tools for tourism planning and management at the local level. In this sense, the Government is committed to the transformation of the tourism model based on the concepts of innovation, technology, sustainability, accessibility and governance to guarantee the present and future of tourism in our country.
Reyes Maroto recalled that in January the general guidelines of the Sustainable Tourism Strategy of Spain 2030 were presented, “a strategy that we want to build on the consensus, with the participation of all the actors, to lay the foundations of a tourism model based on the improvement of the competitive capacity and profitability of the industry, in the different natural and cultural values of the destinations, and in the equitable distribution of tourism benefits and burdens ”.