Distribuzione e Revenue

🏖 VOIhotels, part of Alpitour World, collaborates with Blastness for exclusive online sales and distribution systems. This partnership, announced after a competitive global selection process, marks an evolution in VOIhotels' digital sales strategies. Andrea Delfini, CEO of Blastness, highlights the personalized technology integration as a key success factor. In 2023, Blastness processed bookings over €1 billion, and in summer 2024, direct sales matched those of Booking.com, evidencing the potency of Blastness' solutions.

💰 Blastness selected by VOIhotels, part of Alpitour World, to provide booking engine and channel manager for its 18 sun & beach resorts and 8 luxury VRetreats. The partnership, resulting from a competitive global tender, aims to evolve VOIhotels' digital sales strategies through improved customer experience. In 2023, Blastness processed bookings worth over €1 billion, matching Booking.com's direct sales in summer 2024. Angelo La Riccia, VOIhotels Commercial Director, highlights the strategic move to optimize customer purchase experience and strengthen client relationships.

🏆 Air Europa boosts its service for the Christmas holidays by deploying its flagship Boeing 787 to cover all flights to high-demand destination Punta Cana. The airline offers over 17,100 additional seats on more than 70 extra flights across popular routes from December 20 to January 7. Specifically, for Punta Cana, Miami, and Caracas, 4,400 extra seats are available from Madrid-Barajas, including over 3,100 seats to the Dominican Republic via 10 additional flights utilizing the Dreamliner 787-9. Spanish islands gain over 8,300 seats, with 5,400 allocated to the Balearic Islands and 3,000 to Tenerife North and Gran Canaria, while Milan, Rome, Munich, and Zurich see an increase of 4,400 seats collectively.

🏖️ In 2023, Italian tourism reached a historic high with 133.6 million arrivals and 447.2 million overnight stays, surpassing the 2019 peak of 131.4 million arrivals and 436.7 million overnight stays. Tourism flows increased by 12.8% for arrivals and 8.5% for overnight stays compared to 2022. Foreign tourists represented 52.4% of the demand, with a 23.2% increase in arrivals and 16.5% in overnight stays year-over-year. EU-wide, Italy ranked third in total overnight stays, accounting for 15.2% of the EU's total. However, preliminary 2024 data indicates a slowdown, with a 3.6% decrease in arrivals and 1.4% in overnight stays in the third quarter compared to the same period in 2023.

🛍 Shopping tourism globally declined from $86 billion in 2019 to $72 billion in 2023, a $14 billion loss according to Kearney for the Tax Free World Association, using IATA and Generation Research data. A 16% drop in average spending per passenger was noted, with perfume and beauty product sales plummeting by 31%, despite being the favorite category among airport big spenders. Wine and spirits sales decreased by 14%. High prices deterred 36% of shoppers, particularly younger buyers. However, 2023 shows a trend reversal, with travel retail predicted to reach $117 billion, about €111 billion. In Italy, tax free shopping threshold changes in February could lead to even greater tourism balance benefits. (For more information: https://www.tfwa.com/research/tfwa-insight/tfwa-insight-travel-retails-moment-of-truth-100015543; https://www.kearney.com/; https://www.iata.org/; https://www.generation.se/; https://www.atritalia.it)

💐 Rome is the most searched honeymoon destination with 600 global monthly searches and an average lodging cost of $1,461 for a week-long stay in July for two. Sicily matches Rome's search volume but averages $620 per week. Lake Como and Sardinia rank third with 450 monthly searches, costing on average $1,096 and $766 per week respectively. Tuscany is fourth with 400 searches and a weekly cost of about $820 for two, while Venice is fifth with 300 searches and an average weekly stay of $1,277.

💳 Nielsen's research for American Express surveyed 750+ Italians, finding a 90% increase in digital payment use over cash in the last year. Cashless benefits like credit cards are favored by younger generations, particularly Millennials and Gen Z. Discounts and additional benefits are key for 86% of consumers, rising to 95% among Millennials. Digital payments are preferred for their convenience (57%) and speed (46%). Online card use grew by 34% and in-store by 31%. Gen Z leads this trend, with 56% using cards more frequently online and 38% in-store. Tracking expenses (52%) and making faster payments (51%) are top reasons for choosing cards. For Italian consumers, travel is a priority, with 66% seeking loyalty program benefits. Most prefer digital payments both abroad (52%) and domestically (57%), influencing travel location choices for 71%, especially among Millennials (81%). Exclusive experiences and discounts are valued by 91% of consumers, with 83% enrolled or planning to enroll in related loyalty programs. Price (64%) and discounts (59%) are key factors in retail choice, influencing loyalty for 60% of consumers.

✈ In 2024, global passengers reached 9.5 billion, with 4.1 billion from international flights and 5.4 billion from domestic. Projections for 2042 estimate 18.5 billion passengers, doubling 2019's numbers, and by 2052, 23.2 billion are expected, more than 2.5 times pre-COVID levels. In 2023, airport charges increased by 30% and taxes by 15.5% compared to 2019, signaling a call for airport investments to face future challenges.

✈ In Europe, low-cost airlines dominate the skies with over 60% market share in 2024. Ryanair leads with 31%, followed by easyJet (15%), Wizz Air (8%), and Vueling (6%). Traditional carriers like Lufthansa (4.8%), British Airways (3.9%), Air France-KLM (below 2.5%), and Ita Airways (2%) trail behind. The European market is expected to grow, with increasing seat offerings and new routes from emerging countries. Spain to sell 800,000 seats, Italy and the UK about 300,000 each for Christmas holidays. After a 6% drop in fares, the average ticket price reached €97, down from €101 last year. Ancillary revenues now account for 45% of airlines' total income.

🗺️ More than half of Italians feel that tourism overcrowding negatively affects livability. Within five years, Italians will prioritize accommodation quality (66%) and food (61%). In 2023, of Italy's 447 million total tourist presences, 22% (98 million) were in 5,500+ small towns. 9% (41 million) visited 'Bandiera arancione' towns, and 17% (75 million) explored the top 5 art cities: Rome, Venice, Milan, Florence, and Naples. Nearly a third of respondents from 22 countries would choose Italy as a travel prize, with Rome (68%) and Venice (53%) being top picks, though concerns about cost and safety were noted. (For more information: https://www.ipsos.com/it-it; https://www.touringclub.it/)