Fashion and excellence: Pedro del Hierro at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid
On 18 March, SIE members enjoyed a unique experience at the Pedro del Hierro fashion show.
Madrid, 27 October 2023.
Nearly 150 professionals from the tourism sector of excellence have gathered last Friday in Madrid for the second edition of Coming Up! The most important event on tourism of excellence held in Spain. Organised by SIE, Spain is Excellence, the meeting unveiled the main trends and innovations that, in terms of emerging markets and consumption, will dominate the sector next year. The event took place at the Rosewood Villa Magna hotel in the newly renovated event spaces and has counted with the participation of several market experts. emerging Europe, India and China, which revealed the immense potential that these areas have to offer our country in terms of high-impact tourism. In addition, some twenty speakers spread over several round tables spoke about what Spain, as a destination, has to offer as a of excellence, can contribute in terms of music, sports and celebration tourism, and how the sector must adapt to the way the new generations think and act.
Ana Alonso, CEO of SIE, Spain is Excellence, opened the meeting by recounting, on the one hand, the most outstanding achievements of SIE in the last year and the objectives for the coming year; and, on the other hand, offering some of the most relevant data currently in the tourism sector of excellence. "SIE's objective is to help attract a better quality client to Spain and that this client stays in our country to get to know it. We know that luxury and excellence entail personalisation and, therefore, we will be working in the niches that contribute to this, providing information and value to our partners," said Ana Alonso.
Led by Edouard Combes, hotel manager at Rosewood Villa Magna, Astrid Oberhummer, CEO and founder of the Lobster Experience agency and the Loop Luxury fair, discussed the main tastes of the top German, Swiss and Austrian tourists, as well as the keys to attracting them to Spain. "Sustainability is something that is extremely important to us, which of course includes everything to do with food. The German traveller is willing to spend more; for example, on gastronomic experiences". He also commented that Madrid is becoming an increasingly interesting destination for tourists from these markets, "but you have to explain the value of rising prices," he said. For her part, Poonam Patnaik, international educator and consultant and wife of the current Indian ambassador to Spain, spoke about what is most attractive to visitors from India, one of the most interesting emerging markets of the moment. "The Indian tourist with great purchasing power travels through private agencies. Having vegetarian options is important for them, but also getting to know Spanish gastronomy," she said. Interviewed by Silvia Martínez, director of tourism at Galería Canalejas, Ya Li, president of China Club Spain, a private non-profit association made up of Chinese professionals with work experience in Spanish companies and organisations, told us about the experiences that are of most interest to tourism of excellence from China and how we can attract their attention. "The Chinese market has evolved a lot, it is moving very fast. They are no longer just looking to see the capital cities, but to really discover Spain". He added: "Chinese tourists want to feel at home. Now they are looking more for a private and personalised trip around Spain. They want to live the experience, to feel something different, they want uniqueness. It is important to attract the traveller through social networks, such as Xiao Hong Shu or Tik Tok. We know more and more about Spain through these channels".
The meeting also featured several round tables dedicated to consumer trends for the coming year: music, sporting events and celebrations, as major attractions for premium tourism. The fourth round table, 'Digital Mindset', focused on how the sector must adapt to the way of thinking and acting of the new generations in order to offer them products in line with their technological and digital mentality.
The panel on music tourism was made up of Javier Arnaiz, director of Mad Cool, one of the most important music festivals in our country; Ignacio Gómez, manager-legal and business affairs of the record label Universal Music; Daniel Sanchís, marketing & sponsorship of Last Tour, an artist promoter and concert organiser, and was moderated by Felipe Martín, director of media, online marketing, sponsorship & events at Santander. According to Javier Arnaiz, "20 years ago Spain was at the bottom in Europe and now we are at the top with the United Kingdom. The impact that music tourism generates in cities is very important. It is an industry that generates 5.5 billion in revenue per year". "Music can be a perfect tool to attract tourists and to put you on the map," said Daniel Sanchís. For Ignacio Gómez, "we have to make music tourism more sustainable and distribute it more throughout the country".
Rafael Martín, global travel manager at La Liga; Inmaculada Benito, director of the Tourism, Culture and Sport department of the CEOE; Crys Dyaz, CEO of CrysDyaz&CO, personal trainer, physiotherapist and former elite athlete of the Spanish swimming team, and Marián García García (Boticaria García), doctor in Pharmacy and nutritionist and renowned science communicator, spoke about the relevance that sports tourism is gaining in Spain. In the words of Inmaculada Benito, "public and private investment is very important to attract sports tourism. But legal security is also essential, so that there are adequate facilities, that we incorporate multidimensional security and sustainability into sports tourism". Crys Dyaz commented that many people contact them to look for facilities and to be able to follow their training rhythm. "We are a reference at a professional sports level and that helps to give importance to sport. The key is to combine sport with nature, culture and sustainability and that all the hotels in Spain make this possible". Rafael Martín recalled that "the pandemic was an experience that made us realise that we cannot paralyse the world, that we have to continue and move forward. Sport brought us out of it".
To talk about celebration tourism, Álvaro Giménez, expert in the wine industry, CEO and founder of Vinow App, Giménez & Sigwald Wine Associates and Plaza Wine Cellars; the entrepreneur and prestigious photographer Cruz Campa Pérez, CEO Cruz Campa; Daniela Rodríguez, CEO of Soy Olivia Media Group and one of the main influencer managers in Spain, and Eric Mottard, director of Eventoplus magazine, came together. According to Cruz Campa, "the wedding rules in terms of guest mobility. An 80% of the celebrations market has its origin in these events". However, for Daniela Rodríguez there are also other experiences such as babymoons and stag and hen parties. "Personalised experiences in hotels are becoming more and more important. There are few travel agencies that offer the 360 experience that many tourists are looking for for this type of celebration. Alvaro Giménez affirmed that "wine is perfectly compatible with healthy living and is a great tourism driver that can be linked to activities such as yoga. The potential it has is enormous when it comes to attracting tourism to Spain. Especially for North American tourism".
Rodrigo Miranda said that resistance to digitalisation "is a mixture of fear, laziness and shame. If I am transforming my business I have to go through digitalisation. We are going to get better and we are also going to be happier. For Lorena Moreno, "we have the responsibility to convey to employees the importance of these tools and teach them the value they can bring to the company". "We cannot separate the digital from the physical. The digital transformation of a company starts with people," said Mar Gómez.
Organised by SIE, Spain is Excellence, this year Coming Up! has counted with the collaboration of BECOM, Santander and Hotel Rosewood Villa Magna and the newspapers 20 Minutos and La Información, as media partners.
Fashion and excellence: Pedro del Hierro at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid
On 18 March, SIE members enjoyed a unique experience at the Pedro del Hierro fashion show.
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