Carlos Calero Vincci Hoteles general manager 2021 interview: "We have missed speed, communication and agility; tourism is a profitable industry”.

The arrival of the pandemic 15 months ago caused the tourism sector to go from contributing 12.4% of the Spanish Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2019 to only 4.3% last year. It lost more than 100,000 million euros and Spain, one of the international reference destinations, was left without 63 million foreign tourists in 2020.

With the title Towards a new way of traveling in the post COVID scenario, held on June 3rd its XVI Smart Business Meeting, which addressed how travel will be and how transport and tourism will be transformed after the pandemic.

In the second roundtable, dedicated to tourism and moderated by the director, Yovanna Blanco, 3 outstanding managers of the sector shared their expectations regarding the recovery of the sector and the aid they expect to receive.

Carlos Calero, general manager of Vincci Hoteles, said he needed "speed" to help the sector with funds.

Carlos Calero Vincci Hoteles general manager 2021 interview

"It is important to receive them because we have had no income and we need a helping hand to relaunch this industry, which was already profitable before this happened. It is not to bury money in an unprofitable sector," he said.

The hotelier said that tourism is the first industry of this country, and contributes with a percentage of GDP, and considered it necessary to sit down and talk to find a common strategy and to see how these aids can be channeled, not only to the tourism sector, but the entire value chain, all of the activities that, in one way or another, are related to the arrival of tourists. "We need that communication and agility," he said.

Carlos Calero Vincci Hoteles general manager 2021 interview

Tourism is fundamental for the economy of Spain for everything that this drags, according to Christian Boutin, director general of Amadeus in Spain and Portugal. Therefore, we must pay attention and focus on digitisation to be stronger for the future, as well as elements such as collaboration and harmonisation.

"There are synergies to be found between all the projects and we have to do much more transversal things that can benefit everyone," he said.

Carlos Calero Vincci Hoteles general manager 2021 interview: For his part, Ricardo Fernández, director general of Destinia, commented that he lacked predictability. "There are European funds and we do not know how or when it will reach companies." He added that these funds have to fulfill 2 functions: supply public investment and rescue a profitable and competitive industry.

"Tourism companies will come out with a backpack from this crisis," he concluded.

Carlos Calero Vincci Hoteles general manager 2021 interview

More news:

Banks take advantage of the reactivation of consumption to promote credit: what CaixaBank, Santander, BBVA and Sabadell offer

Vaccination against COVID 19 and the end of the state of alarm are giving wings to economic recovery. After a few months of break, the activity is resumed. The latest data from the CaixaBank Research Consumption monitor shows that, in June, the recovery continued with a growth of 3% compared to the preCOVID reference level.

The same report notes that also slightly improved the latest data on domestic consumption referring to the average of the first two weeks of June - from 31 May to 13 June— and points out that, in the field of face-to-face consumption with card, spending on leisure and restoration continued to improve and continued the change in trend observed in May.

However, for the first time since the start of the pandemic, tourism expenditure did not show a negative variation with respect to the preCOVID reference level.

In this context, banks are strengthening their lending offensive. In the case of the new CaixaBank, the entity launched its first commercial campaign under the name of My Dreams. It is the largest consumer financing action that the entity has launched and includes pre-granted loans of up to 60,000 euros for 6 million customers.

The financing will be available until August 31 with products to finance those services or goods that anticipate more demand for the summer such as travel, cars, home renovations or technology.

It is not the only entity that has decided to bet on loans at a difficult time for the banking sector. Banco Santander, BBVA or Sabadell also encourage the contracting of consumer loans with interest rate reductions campaigns for the beginning of the summer to attract new customers.

All with the aim of cushioning a possible future blow when the moratoriums put in place by the Government end, although in the last presentations of results the banks were relatively optimistic about this scenario.

In an environment where the banking business is still strangled by low interest rates, consumer loans give more air to institutions with higher interest rates than other segments such as mortgages, but also with smaller amounts and with a higher risk of default.

In the first quarter of 2021, bank loans decreased by 0.3%, according to the Pulse of Spanish Banks, the latest report by Álvarez & Marsal that analyzes the situation of the sector. The drop in deposits was greater, which fell by 1.8%.

To this is added that 5 banks concentrate 75% of all loans in Spain, according to the same report. The new CaixaBank (after the merger with Bankia)has a 30.8% share. Santander has 18%; BBVA, 15.6%; and Sabadell, 10.5%.

With these wicker, Sabadell also plans an offensive in consumer credit. The entity plans to focus on online commerce, one of the segments that has grown the most spurred by the pandemic. In this way, Sabadell has integrated into its consumer credit subsidiary the digital platform Instant Credit, specialized in granting instant personal loans through online channels.

The banks ' offensive to reach consumer credit also includes the creation of new products, as in the case of CaixaBank, which within its campaign has created MyCard, a new type of card fully configurable by the customer according to their preferences and needs.

"The customer can split or defer payment of their purchases and, at the same time, control their expenses with the settlement in account every 2 days (or weekly or monthly, if you prefer)," they explain in a note.

For its part, Santander has an offer of several consumer loans focused on different types of purchases that it has reduced. Thus, they offer their Winning Loan, which is on sale until June 27. With this product, it offers loans of up to 80,000 euros to be repaid in up to 7 years with a nominal annual rate and interest of 4.75% fixed rate (before 5.75%) and an opening fee of 1.75% (before 2.25%).

In the case of BBVA, it also offers several types of personal loans focused on different services such as housing reform or a quick personal loan online. In the case of the first product, it has lowered interest rates for new customers. Thus, the current conditions are 3.75% NIR (nominal interest rate) and 3.97% APR (annual equivalent rate) with direct payroll.

In the case of not domiciling the payroll, the rates are somewhat higher: 4.75% NIR and 5% APR. This is an offer valid for digital contracts from May 13 to July 7, 2021, up to 20,000 euros and a single holder. The product is not available at BBVA offices.

The terms of these loans via online channels also highlight the industry's trend towards the digitalization of processes. Banks are selling more and more products online, which allows them to improve their profitability.