The latest edition of the Global South Forum, held on July 7th at the Historical Archive of the Arrecife City Council, highlighted the need to increase the price of overnight stays in Lanzarote. "Simply by selling at the price of Portugal, Spain would increase its tourism revenue by 50%," said the former Minister of Industry, Tourism and Commerce, Miguel Sebastián, during the meeting.
The Global South Forum, dedicated this year to 21st-century tourism and the opportunities offered by new technologies, also featured AC-Hotels by Marriots President Antonio Catalán and Carto executive Juan Manuel Rodríguez, the leading Spanish startup in geopositioning, as speakers.
Sebastián, who warned about cheap prices, recalled that we must stop thinking about bringing more tourists and raise the average price per bed, since the total number of tourists and overnight stays systematically places Spain at the top of any ranking, but the positions plummet when analyzing the average selling price of the destination.
The speakers unanimously acknowledged the sustained growth trend experienced by the sector in Spain, and expressed their conviction that it will continue because, as Sebastián recalled, "in the world there will be more population, higher income and more free time, therefore tourism will be a growing sector, and will continue to be the real oil of our economy as long as we are able to diversify demand".
"It is preferable to have a better average price than more tourists"
"We hoteliers have to convince ourselves that we have to change the model. In the case of Lanzarote it is easier because it has an advantage: it is unique. You may or may not like it, but it is unique. You have the volcanoes and very careful urban planning and that has to have an impact on the price. This island, the day we massify it, will be another Benidorm and I think it is preferable to have a better average price than more tourists," said Antonio Catalán. The businessman also pointed out the weaknesses of the system: "It is impossible to bring a client of 400 euros a night on Ryanair or Iberia Express, it is essential to increase and improve connectivity" and warned that "Arrecife needs a small Congress palace, capable of satisfying its demands".
The intervention of Juan Manuel Rodríguez, from Carto, aroused great interest due to the novelty of his approaches. "With geolocation we have access to the consumption habits of citizens and we can apply that knowledge to the tourism industry". Rodríguez recalled that by processing different digital parameters, it is possible to know why visitors choose certain activities within the destination. "Knowing how our client thinks, we can channel them into different categories to improve their experience as a visitor," he said.
The talks of the event, which was attended by around a hundred people, have been published openly on the Youtube channel of the Global South Forum. This edition of the Global South Forum has had the collaboration of the Department of Tourism of the Arrecife City Council, the Caja Mar Canarias Foundation, Philip Morrys Spain, Lanzagrava, Cicar and Hipotels as official sponsors and the collaboration of the School of Tourism of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.