“Everything points to 2022 being better than this year”. This was the phrase (or something similar) that was repeatedly heard yesterday when, during the Hotel Distribution and Marketing Conference, representatives of the sector looked to what next season will bring. José María Ramón, CEO of Neobookings, organizer of the meeting, believes that there are indications and the conditions are set to rebound: “People want to travel and airlines and tour operators seem eager to sell. In fact, they are “pushing the guarantees” they give to hoteliers. He has also noted that by 2022 “the pace” of British bookings “will recover”: 26.3% of bookings already made come from the UK (until 2019 our main market), the highest percentage (by far) by nationalities. In addition, Ramón states that the average hotel rates for 2022 have already grown by 15%: “2022 could be a very good season,” he predicts.
Juanjo Riera, who for almost a decade was president of the Pitiusos hoteliers, agrees with this assessment. During the round table in which eight professionals in the sector, moderated by Montse Monsalve, discussed what they believe the next year will be like, Riera said he has already seen “a lot of interest” from the bed banks and tour operators to “maintain or increase” their quotas for 2022, even improving the guarantees and deposits offered to accommodation: “That interest means that 2022 can be a great season. Something is moving.
“Selling that everything is normal”
Juan Miguel Costa, director of Tourism of the Consell de Ibiza, is also confident that this will be the case: “In 2021 we have saved the day“, he said with relief. Costa confessed that, in June, the impact of the coronavirus prevented him from sleeping. His sleep has improved: “2021 has been decent. For 2022 we know Ibiza is very much the focus of customer needs. Many want to come to the island. That’s an initial advantage”. He begins with an excellent fact: “In summer we had 90% of the connectivity of 2019… although the planes were not full”.
José Luis Benítez, manager of Ocio de Ibiza, advises that “in 2022 we need be selling that everything is open, that things are already normal”
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