Spanish travel agencies are preparing to experience a record summer. This has been announced by the Corporate Association of Specialized Travel Agencies (Acave), which estimates a 15% increase in bookings compared to 2022, and with historical prices mainly due to the increase in flight prices and inflation. “After two years of restraint, travel has been placed at the forefront of people’s decisions”, explained yesterday the president of Acave, Jordí Martí, as one of the most outstanding results of the survey carried out among the 450 agencies associated with the organization throughout the country, and representing more than 1,000 points of sale.
The increase of 15% means that this summer’s bookings are even higher than the levels of 2019. And that the trips, roughly speaking, have become more expensive on average between 10% and 15 %, according to Martí, mainly due to flights, but also due to high hotel prices and increases in catering and food. This means, in the manager’s words, the “total recovery” of the sector, both sender and receiver, the latter also with records above the pre-pandemic years.
According to the results of the survey, the national destinations preferred by Spaniards to spend this summer are the Balearic Islands, in first place, followed by the Canaries and the Mediterranean coast, mainly Catalonia and Andalusia. In addition, after the pandemic, interest has been awakened in urban destinations as a more noteworthy fact, among which Madrid stands out for the first time.
The United States tops the list of international destinations, followed by Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt and Jordan. Further afield are Asian destinations such as China, Japan, Thailand or Vietnam.
One of the trends that emerges from the survey is more planning when hiring a trip. Waiting for last-minute offers is clearly on the decline in favor of booking between one and two months in advance of the travel date. An aspect that also contributes to consolidating the role of agencies as interlocutors when it comes to travelling. “Back in the day, the internet and the fact that people travel on their own affected us a lot, but we have adapted well to the new times. We offer not only added value to the customer, but also a reliable interlocutor when there are problems”, added the president of Acave, referring to the increasingly common airline strikes and delays, especially in the summer months.
