BEONx Shares Its Experience at the World Travel Market 2017

To follow movements, detect trends and not lose sight of what is expected to come with innovation and tourism in this “new academic year”, BEONx has decided to continue with our expansion and participation in this spectacular fair. 

We were in the Turespaña stand  together with the Spanish hotel industry including such hotels as  ABBA HOTELS, Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa a Royal Hideway Hotel, HIPOTELS, Hoteles RH, IBEROSTAR HOTELS & RESORTS, NH HOTEL GROUP, PARADORES, SANDOS & MARCONFORT HOTELES, SERHS TOURISM & HOTELS , among others.

And, we took advantage of having numerous meetings with the representatives of hotel chains in Europe that were also present at the fair.

We know that not everyone can attend the fair so it is important that we collect the feedback and the impressions of one of the most important tourism events of the year.  As with many international events, we would love to serve as a bridge of knowledge with you communicating those novelties that contextualizing how those currently living in the sector are impacted.

The WTM echoes how those external to the fair and/or the sector need to understand what the fair means so has prepared a small video showing what the fair collects for the visitor and how the ideas are displayed often with a small word or small phrase or even a word that which may be experienced via the WTM:

On the other hand, we know that this will not be enough to satisfy your knowledge needs so we have developed and present below, a small analysis on eight of the themes that recur in the presentations, debates or even in the “corrillos” that are created in the WTM:

• Discovering local cultures as added value. Connecting the tourism product with the reality of the destination and the local culture will be one of the great challenges facing the sector. A tourist who demands more and more often to see and understand the interrelation of the hotel with the territory will be a determining factor when deciding where to take their next vacation and that message must also be collected and analysed by the offering side.

• Customize and distribute the tourist offer on the needs of the market.
  The challenge of a large number of companies and destinations will be to determine what needs the market poses and how to generate real-time solutions adapted to the needs of the traveller. It is necessary to take into account the different parameters that affect the decision-making processes and being able to adapt to the different stages of the trip.

• International problems. According to the World Travel Market Industry Report presented in the WTM include the Brexit, terrorism or the figure of Trump and are some of the problems that most concern professionals in the sector. It is normal that the “corners” of the WTM are also these types of issues, which also influence the strategic movement of large companies in the sector.

• Control of growth through sustainable tourism. The tourism sector demand will continue to grow and the needs to design mechanisms to control the impact on the environment are many. According to the World Travel Market Industry Report: “Three out of four executives in the tourism sector foresee growth in travel demand in 2018 “. Therefore, although the expectations are promising, the sector must control the massification of certain products-destinations and diversify with new proposals.

• The p2p is consolidated as reality. With data like those collected via Hosteltur: “17% of British tourists have booked through a P2P website“. Therefore, it is important to integrate this reality into the traveller’s consumption habits and how a considerable number of travellers opt for a more autonomous and disruptive model on more traditional and standardized systems.

• Increased numbers of Chinese independent travellers. The need of the market indicates that it will be key to analyze the influence that the Chinese traveller will have the need-the possibility of traveling independently. It is necessary to know how it affects the order of players regarding China and how to channel this increasingly consolidated trend into the market data.

• Facebook as a tool to add value in the travel process. The presence of Facebook in the WTM is a clear sign of the relationship that this social network wants to establish itself within the tourism sector. Through its sales director for Northern Europe,  Vanessa FitzGerald, Facebook may be seen as a means to take into account Facebook’s place in the value chain of the contribution to the traveller. The time that travellers invest using Facebook and the ability of the platform to interact with their needs, demonstrates that the sector should closely monitor the movements of the company.

• Innovación en profesionalizar la experiencia mobile del viajero. The reality of the importance of Smartphones as a communication channel with the traveller makes brands evolve in improving the experience in these devices. It goes from recognizing its importance in traffic volumes to precise strategies for a mobile client so that each feels more comfortable interacting with the brands through these devices.

We hope that these ideas, trends or visions in relation to what is happening at WTM can help you keep up to date with what is happening at the fair without having to take home a pain in the ass. Our idea is to synthesize our vision and what will be some of the challenges and opportunities we must face as “interconnectedco-competitors interconectados”.