Travel agencies associations as CEAV, UNAV or Acave have highlighted their “important role” in the tourism sector, standing out as “example of resistance in very difficult years” and “demonstration of effort, strength and enthusiasm”.
This is what they said during the gala of the XXVIII Travelranking Awards, organized by the magazine ‘Agenttravel’, and in which participated the president of CEAV, Carlos Garrido; the president of the Bureau of Tourism, Juan Molas; the president of Fetave, César Gutiérrez; the president of UNAV, José Luis Méndez; and the president of Acave, Jordi Martí.
In his speech, Garrido assured that “suppliers are a key piece” in the organisational structure of the agencies and vice versa. “We need each other,” he added.
He also stressed that airlines are the ones that “show the greatest exponential growth” in terms of turnover, but for this to happen, he pointed out that agencies play a “very important” role.
Therefore, he does not understand that “certain companies try to exclude them without success, because the market always gives value to what we provide travel agencies”, in a possible allusion to the increase in Vueling rates for indirect channels such as agencies.
For his part, Juan Molas stressed that the sector has been “an example of resilience in some very difficult years”. “They have shown strength, effort and enthusiasm, despite the fact that the sector did not have a solid asset from the point of view of financial capacity as others had,” he said.
“A YEAR AND A HALF WITHOUT INCOME”
The president of Fetave vindicated the role of “travel agents and suppliers” for overcoming years in which “many of us have spent a year and a half without income”: “It is a source of pride to be here and to be able to say that we have survived”.
On behalf of UNAV, José Luis Méndez thanked the companies for their commitment, which, despite the years of uncertainty, “have not stopped paying their association fees”. “We, the associations, exist thanks to them,” he added.
Jordí Martí, from Acave, also stressed the need to maintain “sectoral unity in order to be able to add up”. He also wanted to highlight “the role of distribution and the destinations and products they promote”.
