• According to Mabrian’s data, low-cost airline flights fares are behind the increase in average prices for routes to Spain from its five main source markets and to the five favourite destinations of Spanish travellers, rising by 26% and 27%, respectively.

  Low-cost air routes fares, which currently represent 68.5% of the number of seats available on flights from and to Spain, are pushing up flight prices for 2024 summer season, based on an analysis by Mabrian, the global travel intelligence company. Although average prices on conventional airlines continue to be higher, the price increase is greater on low-cost airlines: this represents a shift in the global trend detected between 2021 and 2023, when legacy carriers’ fares grew 40% -while low-cost did a 6%, incrementing air tickets prices.   The data correspond to the interannual variation of prices published for flights between June 1 and September 15, 2024, for both flights to Spain from its five main source markets by air capacity (United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, Netherlands), and to the five favourite destinations of Spanish travellers (Portugal, Italy, France, United Kingdom, Germany). Overall, flight fares from Spain’s five main source markets increased by 26%*, and rise 27%* for flights to Spanish favourite destinations.   The relevance of the low-cost airline share for the Spanish market and its impact on prices is reflected in Mabrian’s data. Thus, low-cost air capacity represents 68.5% of the total, which is equivalent to 37.61 million seats, compared to the 17.33 million conventional airlines operate, and in addition, they grow faster. Compared to 2023, the total number of air seats managed by low-cost airlines in the Spanish market has increased by 11.1% (4.1% in the case of conventional airlines); and since 2019, this increase has been 8.9% (9.3% in traditional companies).   Low-cost flights to and from United Kingdom, the fares that increase the most   Of the five inbound markets analysed, prices fell in only two of them when compared to the previous year: Italy (-5.4%, average price: €105) and France (-6.8%, average price: €124). Fares increased in the United Kingdom (+31.3%), the market that grew the most, with an average price of €210; in Germany (+5.1%, average price: €187), and in the Netherlands (+7.3%, average price: €176).   Low-cost airline flights drive the price increase in United Kingdom (+42.2%, with an average price of €182, +11.3% increase on conventional airlines), and also in Germany (+12.4 % to €163, compared to the 0.4% decrease in the average fares of conventional airlines). The Netherlands is the only market studied in which the average prices of both conventional airlines (10.4%, €255) and low-cost airlines (7.4%, €146) grow. In the cases of Italy and France, although average fares rise in low-cost seats (+18.3% and +19.5%, respectively), the decrease in prices on Italian regular lines of 39.3% and of 13.1% in the French, push average rates down.   *Weighted average, based on capacity, of all markets analysed   In the case of flights departing from Spanish airports, the prices of low-cost seats to United Kingdom, Germany and France are behind the increases of +30.4%, +5.3% and +0.8% in those markets. The increases in fares are particularly notable on low-cost routes to United Kingdom (+38.4%), France (+22.2%) and Germany (+12.3%). Conversely, in Italy, despite the +19.5% increase in the average prices of low-cost flights, the -37.1% reduction in the average prices of legacy airlines lowers by -1.9% the average fares of the connectivity between Spain and Italy. Only in the case of flights to Portugal, one of the favourite travel destinations of Spaniards, fares increased by +4.5%, reflected both in traditional airlines (+1.5%, €138) and in low cost (+10.5%, €84).   As explained by Carlos Cendra Cruz, Director of Marketing and Communication at Mabrian: “The increases in average flight prices we are observing reflects, on the one hand, the rising operational costs of airlines; as well as the growing demand to and from Spain for this summer season. There is still room for adjustment for these rates on these traditionally summer routes, since we are dealing dynamic prices that will vary over the coming weeks, responding to the behaviour of demand.”

The UK is the second most connected nation for air travel, according to newly released data from tourism intelligence firm Mabrian. It released a ranking for the top 10 countries in terms of the number of available seats during the first half of 2024. The US has the best international connectivity with 83.5 million seats followed by the UK with 72.5 million. The analysis, based on flight schedules, reveals a significant evolution in the connectivity landscape. Still, European countries have seen a big increase in connectivity with China since last year, collectively offering 1.98 million air seats. This marks an impressive 190% increase compared to the first half of 2023. China now allows nationals of Spain and four other European Union countries to enter China without a visa for up to 15 days.   Top 10 countries with the best international connectivity: United States: 83,540,022 seats United Kingdom: 72,806,356 seats Germany: 53,650,569 seats Spain: 53,402,095 seats United Arab Emirates: 41,829,422 seats France: 41,148,774 seats Italy: 39,233,697 seats China: 35,125,071 seats Turkey: 32,514,540 seats Japan: 28,851,733 seats   The total air seats for these 10 countries amount to 482,102,279, contributing to 42% of the global international air seats in the first half of the year. Carlos Cendra, CMO at Mabrian, said: "Anticipating the potential of origin markets regarding their outbound air connectivity is a key factor in identifying where tourist demand will be.” “However, it is essential to analyse each destination specifically". Gavin Eccles, director of air connectivity specialist GE Consulting, says: “The robust outbound markets of the UK and Germany are also experiencing significant growth in seats and connections." “If growth continues, 2024 could surpass 2019 as the year with the highest international connections.”   

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• Experiential travel as a motive for a holiday has increased by 8 percentage points globally since 2019, with motivations to visit Europe following a similar pattern.
• Northern European countries are better positioned to capitalize on these new demand trends.

  Mabrian, a leading travel intelligence company, has presented its latest analysis on the evolution of travel motivations for 2024, with a specific focus on the changing trends for visiting Europe and the destinations projecting the best prospects for the upcoming year. The study, conducted through advanced methodologies, including sentiment analysis of travelers through active listening on social media and transactional data on future air connectivity, offers insights into the evolving trends in tourist interests in Europe and the well-positioned destinations.   Mabrian's analysis identifies a global increase in experiential travel, particularly reflected in Europe, specifically in active and natural tourism. Northern European countries lead this shift and position themselves as those best poised to capitalize on these new demand trends. Italy, in turn, tops the list of potential trending destinations for 2024, followed by France and Germany. The Piedmont region in Italy, New Aquitaine in France, and the East of England stand out as the top three destinations, emphasizing interest in a blend of cultural, natural, and gastronomic attractions with robust air connectivity.   Key conclusions for 2024   Some of the key conclusions from Mabrian's analysis focus on the global increase in experiential travel in European destinations, providing a new landscape for travel:  

1. Towards experiential travel: Mabrian's analysis indicates a global trend towards more experiential and less conventional travel motivations, with an 8% increase in experiential travel since 2019. Experiential tourism encompasses activities such as active, natural, gastronomic, and wellness experiences, while conventional tourism includes culture, sun and beach, family activities, nightlife, and shopping.
2. New european trends reflecting global change: Europe has experienced an equivalent 8% growth in experiential activities from 2019 to 2023, reducing the prominence of conventional motivations. Active and nature tourism emerge as the fastest-growing, gaining 5 and 3 percentage points, respectively.
3. Countries best positioned for experiential tourism: Countries in Northern Europe, including Iceland, Norway, Finland, Slovenia, and Switzerland, are better positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for experiential activities, with a share of over 60% in visitor interest.
4. Potential trending destinations for 2024: Mabrian identifies Italy as the leading country with the most potential destinations (four), followed by France and Germany with two each. The top 10 trending regions for 2024 also include the United Kingdom and Portugal.

  Top 3 trending destinations:  

1. Piedmont Region, Italy: Notable for destinations like Turin, Stresa, and Alba, Piedmont stands out with a balance of cultural and natural offerings. Gastronomic experiences feature prominently among experiential motivations, coupled with positive trends in flight accessibility.
2. New Aquitaine, France: Featuring destinations such as Bordeaux, Biarritz, and Limoges, this region stands out for its oenological and gastronomic products alongside active tourism. The region enjoys good and stable air connectivity.
3. East of England, United Kingdom: Including Cambridge, Essex, and Norfolk, this region achieves a balance between cultural and natural offerings, positioning it as a growing destination. Its solid and stable connectivity further supports its appeal.
4. To complete the top 10 trending destinations, notable mentions include: Occitania (France), Campania (Italy), North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany), Lombardy (Italy), Emilia-Romagna (Italy), the province of Hamburg (Germany), and the province of Lisbon (Portugal).

  For this study, over 380 million tourist mentions online from the period between January and October of this year have been analyzed and compared with the four previous years. This technique examines spontaneous conversations related to travel on social media (Big Data) through Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing, interpreting what motivates travelers to visit a place. Additionally, to identify destinations that will potentially be trending in the coming months, transactional data on future air connectivity has been utilized.   In conclusion, Mabrian's 2024 trend analysis reveals a dynamic shift towards experiential travel globally and specifically in Europe, highlighting Italy, France, and Germany as key players in the upcoming travel trends in 2024.   Carlos Cendra, CMO of Mabrian, comments, "While it is challenging to generalize trends today, given the disparity of segments and interests, it is crucial to identify the global and structural shift in travel motivations, especially among the new generations. Each destination possesses unique characteristics and a distinct tourism offering, but all must pay attention to the evolution of traveler motivations and strive to adapt their offerings as agilely as possible, given the competition is global and increasing."

Italy based Data Appeal has signed a contractual agreement for 70% of Mabrian Technologies. It will create the largest specialist travel data intelligence company in Europe. Both companies leverage data analytics and Artificial Intelligence in their segments. Mabrian already has a presence in over 40 countries. Combined, the two companies will have 160 data sources, covering more than 200 countries and a team of analysts specialised in tourism and destination management. The scope ranges from traveller sentiment, mobility, demand, tourist spending and accommodation. Data Appeal is part of the Almawave Group. Santi Camps, CEO of Mabrian said: "For us, joining The Data Appeal Company is a strategic decision with the goal to lead the market globally. “ “A great team has brought Mabrian to where it is today, but now it is time to become part of a solid technology group as Almawave to take advantage of synergies and share know-how."

 

• Compared to last year, Croatia anticipates higher tourism activity during the autumn and winter months, with specific months showing an increase of more than 20%.

  Mabrian, a leading travel intelligence company, has analyzed in a new study the low season opportunities for Croatia and the Mediterranean. The analysis was presented at the 7th edition of the Tourism 365 Conference that has taken place in Toplice, Croatia, this month.   This forum brought together both public entities in the tourism sector and major private companies to discuss opportunities for maintaining sustainable tourism activity throughout the south-eastern Mediterranean region all year round. The conference also featured prominent international speakers, including Carlos Cendra, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Mabrian, who presented forecasts and analyses of tourism strengths and opportunities for Croatia and other Mediterranean countries.   The main conclusions of the study are:  

• A Seasonal Context with Room for Improvement. Croatia still has room for improvement during the considered low season months. When compared to the context and its closest competitors, the data indicates that the Southeast Mediterranean region is 9 percentage points more dependent on the high season than the average in the nearby Mediterranean, while Croatia is 16% more.
• Promising Prospects for the Low Season. One of the main takeaways from Mabrian's analysis is the promising outlook for Croatia in the coming months. It forecasts a 10% increase in tourism from September to March 24, compared to last year. In terms of growth, Croatia is expected to outperform Italy and Turkey during these months, although it has not yet reached the levels seen in Greece.

 

• Croatia Well Positioned for Travellers’ Motivations. According to the latest global travellers’ motivations study conducted by Mabrian, there is a consistent growth in experiential motivations for travel, substituting more conventional motivations. Analysis of travellers sentiment and preferences, based on over 400 million interactions on social media, reveals that interests in Active, Natural, Wellness, and Gastronomy experiences are gaining importance over Sunbathing, Family Travel, Shopping, and Nightlife. This positions Croatia with a great opportunity to solidify its leadership in Nature and Active tourism products during the low season, compared to Mediterranean competitors. Additionally, there is an interesting opportunity to further develop Gastronomy and Culture-related activities, which were among the main travellers interests from October to March during the Autumn-Winter 2022-2023 season.

  Ivana Kolar, CEO at Julius Rose Consulting and Director of the Tourism 365 Conference, commented, "It is great to have confirmation that the Southeast Mediterranean region and Croatia are moving forward to achieve a more balanced tourism activity throughout the year. This has been the objective of this conference since its inception 7 years ago – bringing together governments and companies to align on vision and strategy".   Carlos Cendra, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Mabrian added, "There are no doubts about the development possibilities of the region and Croatia for the non-summer season. The data shows excellent security perception and a well-balanced tourism offering to generate sustainable activity throughout the year, thereby boosting local economies".

 

• This summer travellers booked hotels at never-before-seen prices. How can travel sellers and B2B distributors respond? What role does tech play?
• Data from travel intelligence provider shows 2023 August prices for hotels were up by 64.03% in North America when compared to 2019.

  Since the pandemic, hotel room rates have been increasing drastically and this summer saw travellers paying prices that well exceeded 2019’s prices or any ever seen before. In fact, based on data from travel intelligence provider Mabrian, in August average hotel prices Vs 2019 were up by 16.75% in Europe, 48.5% in Asia and a massive 64.03% in North America.   Will this trend continue or slowly go away as ‘revenge travel’ fades? At what point do very high prices become counterproductive because guests feel ripped-off and won’t come back? And what role does technology and innovation play in responding to all of these challenges?   We spoke to experts from throughout the travel supply chain to get their take on whether the rates are here to stay, and how the industry should respond.   These higher-than-average hotel room rates will provide opportunities for tech-savvy travel sellers who can use innovative ways to help their travellers find the best deals, says Christian Sabbagh from Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) group Travelsoft – owner of distribution platforms such as Traffics, Orchestra and Travel Compositor: “Travel agencies and third parties can develop new strategies for helping customers find great deals on rooms while still offering competitive pricing options.  Additionally, as customer demand continues to grow suppliers can expand their services with innovative approaches like dynamic pricing models or integrated loyalty programs that reward users who book multiple stays at affiliated properties.”   Hotel revenue management experts BEONx warn that the higher-than-average prices are unlikely to last forever as consumers won’t put up with this even if they have the money.  Chief Marketing & Innovation offices Alex Barros comments that “how much is too much? It’s not really about the absolute price, although clearly all travellers have a budget, but instead more about the perception of value. If someone stayed in your property before for half the price, then this time they’re expecting things to be twice as good and if they’re not you damage your brand. Instead try and think of other ways to get more profit out of each customer than just the room charge. Could you be selling more F&B or providing them with a guided tour of the city? There’s always a way to make each guest more profitable and technology is nearly always part of that process.”   Meanwhile the global travel distribution provider Didatravel says that hotels should focus on differentiation.  Chief Marketing Office Gareth Matthews notes: “Although the demand for travel is high, hotels should focus on offering high quality, unique experiences to justify the higher price tags.  Travellers are paying more – but they are expecting more in return and, if a property does not deliver, they could be more likely to leave bad reviews or simply not return.  People want more for their money and want to see the higher prices reflected in the service they receive.”   As a final thought on the topic, some feel that many consumers still want to save money and are on a budget, so they won’t go away – that’s the sentiment of Digitrips, the owner of multi-product travel platform MisterFly. Managing Director Emilie Dumont warns hotel suppliers and third party distributors that: “Not all travellers can or will pay these higher prices; there is a large group of people that will appreciate discounts, incentives, loyalty schemes and special offers. If we want to avoid low hotel occupancy rates in the long term, the onus is on the travel industry as a whole to help agents and OTAs capitalise on the lowest possible rates for this market. Our newly launched Best Price Tracker, which enables travel sellers to benefit from more favourable rates if the price drops between the time of booking and the travel date, is a step in this direction.”

 

• Mabrian analyzes the evolution of traveller behavior and their motivations for travel since 2019
• ‘Experiential’ definition includes activities such as Wellness, Active & Lifestyle, Nature & Food and Cuisine.

  Mabrian Technologies, the leading company in Travel Intelligence and sentiment analysis, reveals the evolution of travellers’ behaviour and motivations from 2019 until now.   Since 2023 is definitively the back to normal year for tourism globally, Mabrian wanted to check if the travel behavioural changes detected after the pandemic will remain the same, or if actually they will switch back to traditional tourism activities.   To obtain this answer, Mabrian has analysed the spontaneous behaviour and preferences of travellers globally using Social Listening. This methodology is based on Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (Natural Language Processing) techniques to analyse over 400 million tourism related interactions on Social Media during the observed period (first semester of 2019 to first semester of 2023).   The results of this study were presented during the webinar organised by AVIAREPS titled Changing traveller behaviour and trends, where besides from Mabrian’s study, Marriot International and Qatar Tourism presented their insights on this matter.   How tourists travel now   The major conclusion to take from the study is that experiential activities or motivations are taking over from conventional travel motivations. As a definition of ‘experiential’, the activities considered are related to Wellness, Active & Lifestyle, Nature & Food and Cuisine. On the other hand, conventional travel motivations have been defined as Arts and Culture, Sunbathing, Family, Shopping and Nightlife activities.   When dividing these motivations in two different blocks, the data shows how experiential activities has increased by 10 percentual points in the last 4 years ahead of conventional activities. By June 2023 the share of experiential motivations is already almost 50 / 50, which is highly significant, considering that in June 2019 only Arts & Culture and Sunbathing represented 41% of the travel motivations.   GRAPH: EXPERIENTIAL VS CONVENTIONAL   The activities that have picked up the most during these years reaching unprecedented levels of interest are Active & Lifestyle, Nature and Wellness. Regarding the two first ones, the data shows a clear inflection point from 2021, corroborating the effects of the pandemic in this type of motivations to travel. Wellbeing has also seen stable growth since 2019.   GRAPH: Global evolution of Tourist Interests: lines graph   On the other hand, conventional activities that have lost most of their importance are Arts & Culture and Sunbathing, which now represent only 34% of travel motivations, losing 7 percentual points since 2019.   GRAPH: Global evolution of Tourist Interests: bars   Carlos Cendra, Chief Marketing and Communication Officer at Mabrian comments: “the way we travel is constantly switching. From the traditional holidays of sunbathing in coastal destinations and culture and shopping in the cities, to disconnecting and discovering experiences where the connection with the environment and ourselves is key. There’s an obvious impact of the pandemic and the effect of being locked down that made us realise how important it is to enjoy the outdoors and feel well and healthy during our free time which has stuck in travellers’ motivations”.   Mabrian highlights that it is essential for destinations and tourism companies to detect new global trends among travellers in an agile manner, while working to offer a tourism product that is as diversified as possible and in line with new trends. High dependence on specific tourism products causes inefficiencies related to high dependence on certain source markets and high seasonality patterns. These factors are of great importance when it comes to promoting the sustainability of the destination.

Travel Intelligence firm Mabrian Technologies has crunched the numbers in the big plane vs train debate. It carried out a study on the potential impact of replacing domestic flights of less than two and a half hours up to a maximum of 500 km, with high-speed trains. The study analyses the savings in CO2 emissions if it became a requirement across Europe. This has already started to be implemented in France. The report found there are 554 domestic flight routes in Europe which would qualify. In 2023, they will carry around 44 million passengers and produce around 2.3 million tonnes of CO2. If they shifted to high-speed trains it could reduce the environmental impact by an average of 48%. This would translate into a saving of more than one million tonnes of CO2 in just one year. This is equivalent to more than 200,000 cars running continuously for 12 months, Mabrian says. For a comparative calculation, Mabrian has looked at the type of electrical energy and its sources, which power the railway system in each European country. It followed the methodology published by the EcoPassenger report. This sets out an ambitious transition towards sustainable mobility, involving the adoption of clean and green technologies. Some countries are further advanced in this than others. Germany, for example, has invested in modernising its rail infrastructure and adopting cleaner technologies. Sweden has been a leader in the use of renewable energy sources such as hydropower and wind power in rail transport. The study reveals five European countries that would achieve the greatest CO2 savings if this transition were to take place. Top is Spain, with a potential saving of 360,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. Then it is Germany, France Italy and Sweden. The analysis has focused only on domestic air routes within each country. So, potential savings would be much greater if all air routes of 500km or less were also considered. Still, to meet the requirements, the cost of upgrading rail infrastructures would require significant investment. Some countries may not have the resources to finance it. Carlos Cendra, Marketing Director at Mabrian, said: "While this analysis may seem unrealistic, we believe in demonstrating the efficiency of decisions through data.” With this analysis, we have quantified the potential savings from taking steps in that direction.”

 

• Mabrian announces strategic growth plan as part of evolution to become the number one travel intelligence tool globally.
• In addition to the Middle East and North America push the company will also expand further into providing services to hotels, airlines and other private sector businesses.
• Diana Munoz joins Mabrian as a Strategic Advisor to lead the company’s new strategy and contribute to its growth.

  Travel intelligence leader Mabrian is delighted to announce its strategic growth plan as part of its evolution to become the number one travel intelligence tool globally. The company is delighted to unveil its new strategy, which will focus on leveraging its robust platform, forming new partnerships, expanding internationally, and attracting talent.   As part of this strategy Mabrian has appointed Diana Munoz as Strategic Growth Advisor to the Executive Team.  Over a decade as a Senior Vice President in Mastercard, Munoz held various global positions managing strategic partnerships, and fostering growth for over a decade.  Prior to Mastercard, Diana held senior positions in Citi EMEA and Latam and in American Express North America and Latam.   Under Diana’s advice, Mabrian’s new strategy will focus on international expansion. The company is poised for exponential development and growth in new regions such as the United States or the Middle East, despite already operating in 40 countries. This expansion will be achieved through strategic partnerships at a global level and the exploration of new business segments within the private sector. These initiatives aim to support Mabrian's existing global leadership in providing intelligence services to tourist destinations.   For the past eight years, Mabrian has been at the forefront of offering travel data and insights through its artificial intelligence-powered visual dashboard. What sets it apart is its ability to integrate multiple sources of data, enabling it to track the complete traveller's journey, including air travel, hotel stays, destination spending, and social impressions. Mabrian leverages over 20 global data sources to gain a comprehensive understanding of visitor profiles and behaviour, helping destinations optimise their promotional strategies and maximise spending.   With an impressive 85% service renewal rate, Mabrian's development is supported by its high customer loyalty. In addition, the company continuously improves its Artificial Intelligence systems, allowing for the identification and forecasting of tourism trends using Big Data analytics. These ongoing advancements in AI strengthen Mabrian's position as an industry leader.   "Mabrian is delighted to welcome Diana Munoz as a Strategic Advisor to our executive team" stated Santi Camps, Founder & CEO at Mabrian. "Diana's in-depth understanding of the travel industry and her strategic vision will be instrumental in driving our growth and establishing Mabrian as a global leader in travel intelligence. We are confident that her appointment will enable us to seize new opportunities and strengthen our position."   Camps added: "Mabrian’s client base speaks to the strength of our offerings. Now, we are expanding our services to the private sector, exploring new regions, and actively engaging in partnerships with key consulting firms.    This growth trajectory has us incredibly excited and ready to take on new challenges."Diana Munoz, in her new role as a Strategic Advisor, expressed her enthusiasm about joining Mabrian, stating, "After many years of working with Mabrian as a partner, I am delighted to be a part of this new phase in its journey and excited to contribute to its international expansion. Mabrian's advanced technology, combined with its strong client base and exceptional team, positions us for tremendous growth. I look forward to leveraging my expertise and working closely with the team to capitalise on the opportunities ahead and drive success in this new phase."

Travel intelligence provider Mabrian conducted a Europe hotel price analysis of 20 destinations. It found European hotel rates are on the rise across most categories and destinations, eclipsing inflation. In general terms, Barcelona, Brussels, and Rome are the destinations with the highest increase in hotel rates. These ranged from 30% to 33% on average. Meanwhile, Ljubljana, Madrid, and Tirana saw the lowest Europe hotel price increases. Mabrian also notes that Barcelona is the city where prices have increased the most compared to Easter 2022, with a 43% increase for three-star hotels. In four-star hotels, the highest price growth is in Brussels, with a 34% increase. Mabrian cites Zagreb, Warsaw, and Tirana as the most competitively priced destinations for all three categories of hotels over Easter. Carlos Cendra, Director of Marketing & Sales at Mabrian, said: "While hotel prices are rising sharply, we must look at this rise in the context of inflation” “In addition, we have to account for the increase in staff operating costs.” “All this is combined with a strong demand for travel, which pushes prices up."

 

• Budapest, Lisbon and Warsaw lead the list of capitals by rate of recovery of air connectivity with China

  Mabrian, a leading tourism intelligence company, has presented a new study based on air connectivity data from flights connecting the world's main cities with China. This analysis takes place after three years of closed borders for China due to the pandemic. Finally the Asian giant has now lifted restrictions on travel to Europe and the United States – and many of the world's main capitals are working to recover one of the most coveted tourist source markets.   In this analysis, Mabrian has analyzed data updated on 23rd of January of the flight schedules for 2023 that connect European destinations with China via direct routes.   One of the main conclusions drawn by the study is that the recovery of flights will be gradual and that given the recent opening of China, most of the destinations analyzed are still below the pre-pandemic volumes of 2019. But this is not the case for every destination, since there are three destinations that stand out for their prompt reactivation and that already exceed the number of flights in the pre-pandemic period: Budapest, Lisbon and Warsaw. Respectively, these three capitals have increased their air connectivity with China by 138%, 107% and 6% for this year compared to 2019.   At the next level down when it comes to recovering connectivity, the study places Athens, Minsk, Frankfurt, Munich, Khabarovsk, Brussels, Copenhagen and London, still with 38% below 2019 in the case of Athens, and between 50% and 63% of less flights scheduled than 2019 for the rest.   In the last group of European capitals that to date have reactivated their capacity the least from China, Mabrian discovers that they are some of the most traditionally visited European capitals such as Rome, Paris and Madrid. These four cities have volumes between 72% and 90% less than in the pre-pandemic period. An explanation for this might be the large volume of flights that they registered in 2019, and that thus they may take a while to recover.   From Mabrian they emphasize that the recovery of the Chinese market will be gradual despite the high demand of its citizens to visit other countries. The reactivation of air connections is key in this process and it will require some time for airlines to reschedule and redistribute their capacity to respond to demand.   As Carlos Cendra, Mabrian's Director of Marketing and Sales explains, "in order to be competitive and recover the Chinese market more quickly, it is key to closely follow the evolution of connectivity, to know the possible change in the interests and preferences of travelers after the pandemic and benchmark competing destinations. For this, it is key to work hand in hand with tourism intelligence to be able to make better decisions regarding planning for this year”.

 

• Mexico and Colombia lead the destinations with the highest growth in air capacity to travel to the Spanish capital in 2023

  Mabrian, a leading tourist intelligence company, has analyzed for the FITUR travel trade fair – which is being held this week in Madrid – the growth of the main source markets that will travel the most to Madrid this 2023.   The study, carried out using real-time data on air capacity, shows how Latin America has enormous growth in demand this year to visit Spain’s capital. In fact, Mexico and Colombia top the list of international destinations that have increased their air capacity to travel to Madrid. In the case of Mexico, the growth  of air capacity to Madrid is 32.72% higher when compared to 2019 and 42.05% highger compared to last. For its part, Colombia has increased air capacity by 23.35% compared to 2019 and 34.96% when compared to 2022.   The other countries that have increased their air capacity to Madrid are, in descending order: Portugal, the United States, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Switzerland. In the case of the United States, interest grew by 33.84% compared to last year (you can read more about the profile of Americans traveling to Spain here in this recent Mabrian analysis), but decreased when compared to 2019. In the case of Switzerland, interest decreased compared to 2019 and is recovering compared to last year.   Countries that will visit Madrid the most in 2023 by ranking     In addition to the data on growth in air capacity, the origin destinations that will visit Madrid the most, in order, will be: the Spainish domestic market to Madrid, followed by Italy, France, Portugal, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Mexico, Colombia and Swizterland.   In this ranking there are changes compared to 2019, when the United Kingdom was in fourth place followed by Germany, and Mexico was in last place. Thus, in 2019, the destinations that visited Madrid the most were: Spain, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, Portugal, Switzerland, Colombia and Mexico.