how far are they those times in which the tour operators (TTOO) were the owners and gentlemen of Ibiza and they managed the beds at will. It gave security to hoteliers, but at the cost of not being able to control those who were staying. Sant Antoni, for example, paid for it (and is still paying for it) dearly. But in the last decade, the island has taken a giant step in this regard, by not depending so much on them and being able to sell directly, either through their web pages or through OTAs (online travel agencies). And that angers, and not a little, the TTOO, as was verified yesterday at the Berlin tourist fair (ITB), at whose Balearic stand a meeting was held that brought together the Balearic Minister of Tourism, Iago Negueruera, and the ministers of sector (attended by Alejandra Ferrer, from Formentera, and Vicent Marí, from Ibiza) with the five largest tour operators in Germany (except TUI, with whom Negueruela already spoke three days ago). The conclusion was unanimous: first, that reservations go like a rocket in Mallorca and not so much in Ibiza; second, that they are upset because they have lost a lot of market share in the Pitiusas as a result of the solid increase in direct sales.
And the latter is especially worrying if what it is about is increasing (or at least maintaining) the number of German travelers, since tour operators do not intend to increase the number of flights if they do not have guaranteed occupancy, if possible well in advance. , something difficult to achieve through direct sales, more random and unpredictable and more dependent on the last minute.
From 70 to 50%… and beyond
The first to put the cards face up was the head of hotel contracting in Spain for FTI, Manuel Morales, who is usually clear and forceful in his statements (already in 2019 he said that the prices in Ibiza were “out of reality”): “You have to remind them [a empresarios y políticos de las Pitiusas] that those who put the flights are, mainly, the tour operators, us, and that they do not forget where they come from, “he warned yesterday. A full-fledged threat that he released after explaining that the island has become a “very dynamic sales destination.” “And we,” he said, “are traditional tour operators. For this reason, Ibiza is the destination where it is most difficult for us to find the package [vuelo más hotel, muchas veces con todo incluido]». He regrets that hotels “look for another distribution channel”, just the one that is least convenient for TTOO. Nils Lübbe, director of the Western Mediterranean of Der Touristik, complained in the meeting with the councils and the Government that the share of tour operators has gone from 70% to 50% on the island… And he fell short, since the difference is even higher in some cases.
He is not the only one but that Morales puts on the Pitiusas. The rates are still almost casus belli for him: “It is the island that has raised prices the most, although it has some explanation because the hotels have made important reforms.” Hence, while he talks about increases in reserves of 12% in the case of Mallorca (it was 25% in 2022), for Ibiza it remains at zero: “We will try to maintain the numbers for 2022.” That is, 60,000 tourists. They won’t risk more.
Hit Ibiza again with the same stone. He goes to the ITB to hear about each edition: that they are not willing to send more travelers because the prices are very high and because the Ibizans make the tour operation difficult for them. Jorgen Heittinga, contracting director of Altours, who speaks of increases of 30% in reservations in Mallorca and 10% in Ibiza (where he sends 40,000 German visitors), stresses the same idea: Germans are “very sensitive to price”, especially now, since the country suffers from an inflation of 8.7%, which in the case of food amounts to 21.8%. As a consequence, the Altours package has risen an average of 10%. That of FTI, up to 25%. But Heittinga is not scared by that percentage either. He considers it acceptable if he compares himself with how the prices “of flying, electricity and food have grown, since it is in line with what was paid before the pandemic.”
die of success
His clients “seek quality, but at an affordable price,” he says. That is why they opted, this year more than ever, for the all-inclusive, to “know clearly what they will spend on their trip.” They don’t want surprises.
Wendy López Trejo, RTK delegate (includes 5,400 travel agencies) in Spain, is very clear about the causes of this unrequited love between Ibiza and Germany. Tour operators, she explains, are necessary for airlines to send planes to destinations: “Flights are not scheduled if they are not sure that they are going to fill them.” And that, completing the passage, “is not achieved only with direct sales.” Warning to sailors: direct sales can die of success despite the benefits it entails for hotels. Precisely, López finds it “curious” that an important Ibizan chain (he does not want his name to appear; by the way, his presence in the ITB is minimal) “does not see the German tourist as a target” because it is too closely linked to the tour operation ( and the packages). Perhaps that is why the island only accounts for 2% of its sales for RTK, compared to 40% for Mallorca.
López is also concerned that prices are skyrocketing, up to 15% in his case and mainly as a result of the increase in the cost of flights (+20%).
Go up in Majorca, go down in Ibiza
In Mallorca, Schauinsland-reisen already manages reservation figures above those of 2019 and 2022. For Ibiza, below both. The reason? The same as the rest of the tour operators: prices and loss of share. «The prices in Ibiza are really very high and are only affordable for an elitist market segment. Your hotel plant has changed a lot. Many four-star hotels have become five-star and this causes the medium-high level tour operator to discard it as it is so elitist. He also hires his vacations in a different way”, explains Carlos Fuster, recruitment director of Schauinsland-reisen.
The president of the Consell, Vicent Marí, agreed with several of these executives from tour companies to meet again to analyze “what can be done” about it and try to find “a balance.” In that meeting, Marí, who is also Minister of Tourism of Ibiza, observed “resistance” from the TTOO to “increase bed quotas” and “risk on flights”. He explains it almost in the same words as Wendy López: by increasing the share of direct sales, which is more of a last minute, the TTOO cannot guarantee (much less with time) that the planes fly full. “They allege that the tour operation provides foresight and anticipation,” says Marí, although the Ibizan president warns that “Ibiza’s strength is now diversity”, that is, that it no longer depends exclusively on TTOOs, as was the case until long ago. It seems that maintaining that balance is going to be difficult, at least with the German market.
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At the end of the meeting, the Balearic Tourism Minister, Iago Negueruela, described the direct sale of Ibiza as “very strong” and supported it for “allowing better negotiation” of prices (via revenue management) and because “it is important not to depend totally on the tour operators.
In this sense, Alejandra Ferrer, Minister of Tourism of Formentera, recalls that all the islands have opted “to work with direct sales because it helps to not depend so much on tour operators” and because this prevents “falls like the one Thomas suffered Cook” take away the establishments that only work with them. “You have to find the balance that helps maintain connectivity and TTOO, but you also have to have the freedom to diversify towards other markets,” he pointed out.