Distribuzione e Revenue

💰 Melià's fiscal year 2024 achieved a record profit of €162 million, a 24.5% increase from 2023. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) reached €533.6 million, up 9.7%. Revenue exceeded €2 billion for the first time, at €2.013 billion, a 4.4% growth. Debt was reduced by €391 million, leaving a net financial debt of €772.7 million. The company's asset value rose by 13.9% to €5.285 billion, adding 34 new hotels and opening 19. Positive 2025 outlook highlighted for Canary Islands, Cape Verde, the Caribbean, and European capitals.

❄ 8.2 million Italians chose or will choose to visit the Alps and Apennines for their snow holidays during the first quarter, as reported by Tecnè for Federalberghi. Among them, 5.9 million are having a full 'settimana bianca' (white week), with 600,000 also adding weekends on Italian peaks. 2.3 million opted for mountain weekends only, generating a total turnover of €5.8 billion. Only 3.9% went abroad for their white week. The tourism sector's efforts in price containment and the fact that 72% of vacation expenses are reinvested locally are highlighted by Federalberghi President Bernabò Bocca.

🏩 Ana, a Japanese carrier, announced the purchase of 77 aircraft from Boeing, Airbus, and Embraer, valued at approximately 2 trillion yen (€12.7 billion) - the company's largest single order. Koji Shibata, president of Ana Holdings, envisions this order as key to enhancing profitability on domestic flights and bolstering international routes, signaling a sustainable development push post-Covid-19 pandemic. The purchase includes 30 Boeing, 27 Airbus, and 20 Embraer planes.

🏬 Neinver closed 2024 with record sales of €1.627 billion, an 8% increase from 2023, from its 20 European assets, including 16 outlet centers and 4 retail and leisure parks. The centers, located across Germany, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Poland, welcomed over 69 million visitors, with a 6% rise in average spending. The occupancy rate hit a historic 98%. Development plans include new food areas and renovations at Vicolungo and Castel Guelfo The Style Outlets in Italy, Getafe and Las Rozas in Spain, and future projects like the expansion of Viladecans The Style Outlets in Spain and a second outlet in France.

💰 Luis Gallego, CEO of IAG, will present the 2024 financial results next Friday, showing very positive numbers. The sales of the group, which includes Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, Level, and Vueling, increased by 8%, reaching 31.7 billion euros. Profits rose to 4.1 billion euros, a 15% increase from the previous year. Details on individual airlines' performance were not disclosed, but both British Airways and Iberia are presumed to have achieved excellent results. Investors are keen on predictions for summer 2025 amidst rising costs noted by Tui and Jet2.

🛫 Italian aviation sector aims to link with the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (Pnrr) for sustainable development. In 2024, the sector demonstrated strong demand. Italy's aviation industry is worth €65 billion, with 219 million passengers and nearly 3 million associated jobs. Assoaeroporti seeks to include projects in Pnrr's lines M1 and M2, with a €9 billion self-financed development plan for Fiumicino airport awaiting approval. Enav improved approach routes, saving approximately 284 million kilograms of CO2, and further 400,000 kg from taxiing optimizations. The industry looks forward to new biofuels as the ultimate challenge.

🏖️ Jordan Tourist Board aims to double Italian arrivals in Jordan by 2025, compared to 2024. Italian visitors were at 1,549 by end of January 2025 with total international arrivals of 611,000, recovering from over 127,000 in 2023 to around 25,000 last season. Wael Al-Rousan, deputy manager director of JTN, noted a 15% increase in Gulf Cooperation Council nations, reaching 1.32 million overnight stays in 2024. Overall arrivals fell by 3% (from 6.4 million to 6.1 million) with spending down from €7.1 billion to €6.8 billion between 2023 and 2024. Jordan Tourism Board plans to leverage digital communication with a $30 million investment to revisit 2023 tourism records by the end of the following year.

📊 In 2024, Milan, Rome, and Madrid were the top European cities for business travel, accounting for 30% of corporate bookings via BizAway. Other Italian cities like Bologna, Turin, Florence, and Venice made the top ten. With business travel in Italy on the rise, BizAway saw a 57% increase in bookings compared to 2023. Giovanni Bernardi from BizAway highlights the recovery from the pandemic and optimism for 2025, as 52% of corporate buyers expect bigger business travel budgets.

🎈 Occupancy at a&o Hostel Mestre nearly hit 100% during the three weekends of Venice Carnival. Specifically, on the weekend of February 14-16, they reported 98% fullness for Saturday night, with 84% individual travelers and 16% small groups. Compared to 92% occupancy in 2024, 2023 saw a 2% increase and a shift from group to individual bookings. For the final weekend, February 28-March 2, the hostel is almost fully booked: 94% for Saturday, 72% for Friday and Sunday nights. According to hostel manager Francesco Siciliano, guests mainly stay for 2 nights, don't book early, and seek local advice, with a 24/7 reception available.

🏕 Turkey witnessed a strong start to the year with a 6.1% increase in foreign tourist arrivals in January, hitting 2.17 million. Notable rises from Iran (13.6% to 240.6k), Bulgaria (2.1% to 165.8k), and Germany (5.4% to 150.6k), while arrivals from Russia and Georgia declined by 11.6% and 4.3% respectively. Following a record year with 52.6 million international tourists and $61.1 billion in tourism revenue in the previous year, Istanbul remains the top destination with 18.6 million visitors.