how far are they The times when tour operators were business owners and gentlemen. Ibiza and they managed the beds as they wished. It provided security to the hoteliers, but at the expense of not being able to check out the rest. Sant Antoni, for example, paid dearly for this (and still pays). However, in the last ten years, the island has taken a huge step in this regard, by not relying too much on them, and selling directly either on their web pages or through OTAs (online travel agencies). And this has angered TTOO a bit, as confirmed yesterday at the Berlin tourism fair (ITB), where a meeting was held at the Balearic booth that brought together Balearic Tourism Minister Iago Negueruera and industry ministers. (Alejandra Ferrer from Formentera and Vicen Marí from Ibiza attended) Germany’s top five tour operators (Except for TUI, which Negueruela spoke to three days ago). The result was unanimous: First, In Mallorca reservations go like a rocket and in Ibiza not so much; secondly, they regret losing too much market share in Pitiusas as a result of the solid increase in direct sales.
And second, it’s particularly worrying when it comes to increasing (or at least maintaining) German passenger numbers, because tour operators don’t consider increasing the number of flights, if possible, if there is no guarantee of occupancy far in advance. . something that is difficult to obtain through direct selling, more haphazard and unpredictable, and more last-minute dependent.
From 70% to 50%… and beyond
The first to reveal the cards was Manuel Morales, head of hotel contracting in Spain for FTI, who was often clear and forceful in his statements (he already said in 2019 that prices in Ibiza were “out of the way”): “You have to remind them. [a empresarios y políticos de las Pitiusas] He warned yesterday that it is us, especially the tour operators, who set up the flights and that they do not forget where they come from. It’s a full-fledged threat he posted after he announced that the island had become a “very dynamic in sales” place. “And we – he said – are traditional tour operators. So the destination where the package is most difficult for us to find is Ibiza. [vuelo más hotel, muchas veces con todo incluido]». He regrets that hotels are “looking for another distribution channel” that is the least suitable for TTOO. Nils Lübbe, the Western Mediterranean Director of Der Touristik, complained in his meeting with the parliament and the government that the share of tour operators on the island increased from 70 percent to 50 percent… And it was insufficient due to the difference. in some cases even higher.
He’s not the only one Morales hooked on Pitiusas. Rates are almost a war for him: “Although he has some explanations for hotels making major reforms, the island has raised prices the most.” So while we talk about the 12% increase in reserves in the Mallorca case (from 25% in 2022), it stays at zero for Ibiza: “We will try to keep the numbers for 2022.” So 60,000 tourists. They don’t risk any more.
Hit Ibiza again with the same stone. He goes to ITB to find out about every edition: they don’t want to send more travelers because the prices are too high and Ibizans make the tour operation difficult for them. Noting that bookings are up 30% in Mallorca and 10% in Ibiza (sending 40,000 German visitors), Altours’ contract director Jorgen Heittinga emphasizes the same sentiment: Germans are “very price sensitive”, especially right now. because the country is suffering from 8.7% inflation, this rate is 21.8% when it comes to food. As a result, the Altours package increased by 10% on average. FTI’s, up to 25%. But Heittinga is not afraid of that either. He finds this acceptable when compared to “how prices for flight, electricity and food have risen as they are in line with what was paid before the pandemic”.
die of success
He says his customers are “looking for quality at an affordable price”. Therefore, more than ever this year, they opted for the all-inclusive concept to “clearly know what to spend on their trip”. They don’t want surprises.
RTK delegate in Spain (includes 5,400 travel agents) Wendy López Trejo is very clear on the reasons for this unrequited love between Ibiza and Germany. He explains that tour operators are required by airlines to send planes to their destinations: “Flights aren’t scheduled if they’re not sure they’ll fill them.” And this, concluding the passage, “cannot be achieved by direct selling alone.” Warning to seafarers: Direct sales can die of success despite the benefits for hotels. López is exactly “curious” that a major Ibizan chain (he doesn’t want his name to appear; by the way, minimal presence at ITB) “doesn’t see the German tourist as a destination” because it’s so closely linked to the tour operation (and packages). Perhaps this is why the island only accounts for 2% of RTK sales, compared to 40% in Mallorca.
López is also concerned that prices have skyrocketed by as much as 15% in his case and mainly as a result of the increase in flight costs (+20%).
Go up in Majorca, go down in Ibiza
Schauinsland-reisen in Mallorca already has over 2019 and 2022 booking figures. Below both for Ibiza. Reason? Same as the rest of the tour operators: prices and loss of share. «Prices in Ibiza are really high and only suitable for an elitist market segment. Your hotel facility has changed a lot. Many four-star hotels have become five-star, causing mid-to-high-end tour operators to overlook it for being too elitist. “He also recruits his holidays in a different way”, explains Carlos Fuster, director of recruitment at Schauinsland-reisen.
Consell’s president, Vicen Marí, agreed to meet again with several of these tour company executives to analyze “what can be done” about it and try to find “a balance”. Marí, who was also Ibiza Tourism Minister at that meeting, observed TTOO’s “resistance” to “increasing bed quotas” and “risk in flights”. He explains this in almost the same words as Wendy López: By increasing the share of direct sales, which are more at the last minute, TTOO cannot guarantee that the planes are full (much less over time). “They claim the tour operation provides foresight and anticipation,” says Marí, but the Ibiza president warns that “Ibiza’s strength is now diversity,” meaning it’s no longer dependent on TTOOs alone as it was long ago. Achieving this balance seems to be difficult, at least in the German market.
At the end of the meeting, Balearic Tourism Minister Iago Negueruela described Ibiza’s direct sale as “very strong” and supported it because it “allows for better negotiation” (through revenue management) and “not important”. It totally depends on the tour operators.
In this sense, Formentera Tourism Minister Alejandra Ferrer recalls that all islands prefer to “work with direct sales as it helps not to become too dependent on tour operators”, and this avoids “falls like Thomas Cook lived”. “Just take away the establishments that work with them. You need to find the balance that helps maintain connectivity and TTOO, but you also have to have the freedom to diversify into other markets,” he said.