Untitled

DEVELOPMENT OF SPANISH OUTBOUND TRIPS
2
TRAVEL PATTERNS
2.1 NUMBER OF TRIPS
Since 1999 the share of international tourist
trips in the total has grown significantly while
their rate of growth has been around five times
higher than domestic ones. In 2004 international trips rose 17% over 2003; in 2005 they
more than doubled. Spain, however, remains
the main tourist destination for Spaniards with
close to 90% of the total market for tourist
trips. But international travel is growing rapidly.
Spanish statistics count the number of trips involving at least one night spent away from the
usual place of residence. Then they establish a
difference between tourist trips (with leisure,
recreation or holiday as their central motive)
and trips to second residences (an important
part of the total, given the high number of
these owned by Spaniards). Finally tourist
trips can be domestic or international.
In 2004 Spaniards took a total of 132.9 million
trips. Tourist trips were 47.1 million (4.6 million or 10% of them international). The numbers for 2005 were 171.6 million total trips and
84.1 million tourist trips (10.5 million of them
international).
Spanish tourism, both domestic and international, has a marked seasonality with two high
peaks over July-August (the highest) and
around Easter (falling in either March or April
of each year).
By region, Catalonia is number one in the volume of outgoing tourists followed by Madrid,
Valencia and Andalusia.
OUTBOUND TRIPS FROM *
Spain
+15 %
Russia
+14 %
Poland
+14 %
Ireland
+8 %
Norway
+8 %
Denmark
+8 %
France
+7 %
* European outbound travel markets with more than 5 million outbound trips
IPK International - Int’l Tourim Consulting Group, World Travel Monitor Company
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SPANISH TOURIST
ARRIVALS TO VIETNAM
2.2 EUROPEAN
DESTINATIONS
The bulk of outgoing Spaniards chooses Europe as its main holiday destination. In 2004
over three-quarters of all international tourist
trips were intra-regional. Main destinations
are France, Portugal, Italy, Great Britain and
Germany. Morocco is the most important nonEuropean destination with 5% of outgoing
tourist trips.
2.3 REST OF THE WORLD
The rest of the pie is shared by the Americas
(13.3%) and Asia-Pacific (less than 5%). There
are no detailed data on the Spanish side for
tourist trips to Southeast Asia. The most attractive destination there for Spaniards seems
to be Thailand, visited by 52,386 in 2005 (data
from the Tourism Authority of Thailand).
However, numbers of trips to Thailand from
Spain are not growing.
2.4 VIETNAM
The recent evolution of Spanish tourism to
Vietnam has been quite impressive, even
though absolute numbers still remain low in
comparison with other European nationalities.
(See chart below)
YEAR
1999
2000
NUMBER
GROWTH (%)
3,840
---5,577
45.2
7,406
2001
2002
2003
32.8
39.1
10,306
-43.3
5,851
2004
11,340
93.8
18,618
2005 (est.)
2006 (est.)
19,218
Spanish Tourist arrivals to Vietnam
64.1
3.2
Based on VNAT data
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2.5 EXPENDITURES
In 2004, Spanish travellers spent a total of
€17.86 billion. Average expenditure per person
per trip came up to €134.3 while daily per
capita expenditure was €32.1.
International trips involve the highest total
and daily expenditures. Even though they are
but a mere 10% of total tourist trips, they concentrate 23.4% of total travel expenditures by
Spanish households with a daily average
amount of €107.6.
2.7 BOOKINGS
2.6 SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC
PROFILE
Income, formal education, employment and occupation are the main predictors of travel for
Spanish tourists. Although data do not allow
separation of domestic and international
tourists, clearly all those features are even
more concentrated in the latter, especially
when it comes to long-haul destinations. In
general, the Spanish traveller has a monthly income over €2,500; a university degree (71.6%
of them travel); is employed and works as manager, professional or intermediate staff; resides
in Catalonia, Madrid, Valencia or Andalusia.
There are not many data about what Spaniards
like to do when on long-haul holidays. Given
their socio-demographic profile, it is expected
that they will enjoy high-standard accommodation, good restaurants, and the local cultural
life. Spaniards like partying at night, drinking
and talking until late, going to discotheques
and/or to karaoke bars. Although evidence is
only anecdotal, they complain that there is not
enough nightlife in Vietnam. If they travel with
children, they worry about the lack of entertainment for them. They also say that they
would stay longer in the country if they could
find what they are looking for.
When it comes to international travel,
Spaniards use air transport above all other
means (57% of foreign travel is by air). The
distant location of Spain accounts for this preference. In the same way, foreign travel is usually more organized than domestic, and for
similar reasons—distance, both physical and
cultural. Most Spaniards therefore make reservations previous to departure in the form of
package tours, partial reservations through a
travel agent or directly with the providers.
Reservations are made well in advance of trips.
41% of them are planned at least a month beforehand. However, Spaniards are less eager
than other Europeans to buy whole packages,
preferring limited reservations. Preferred accommodation for international travel is in hotels (53% use 3 or 4 star hotels).
Package
23.6 %
Direct booking with supplier
26.4 %
Partial booking via travel agent
23.1 %
Without booking
25.6 %
Source: Movimientos Turísticos de
los Españoles (Familitur) . IET.
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VIETNAM’S IMAGE
IN SPAIN
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VIETNAM’S IMAGE IN SPAIN
3.1 IN GENERAL
Vietnam is not yet a well-known destination
for Spanish tourists. Even today, the country is
mostly associated with the memories of the
American War, especially among the baby
boomers born between 1940 and 1960. Few
people are aware of the changes the country
has undergone since the early 1980s. Among
those who know better, three main groups of
travellers can be named. The first and perhaps
biggest is that of the baby boomers trying to
rejuvenate by visiting the country of their
youthful sympathies. The second includes special interest travellers who look for specific
products (scuba diving, biking, trekking).
Backpackers in search of pristine environments and peaceful surroundings (Sa Pa, Phu
Quoc, Nha Trang) are the third. However, all
of those groups are really small in numbers.
Spanish media, whether newspapers or magazines, printed or audiovisual, general or specializing in travel, devote very little attention
to Vietnam. The travel sections of the main
dailies (El País, El Mundo, ABC, La Vanguardia) and travel magazines (Viajar, Revista
De Viajes, 80 Días) only devoted a trickle of
notices and articles to Vietnam in 2005 and
2006.
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This lack of attention on the Spanish side is
matched by its Vietnamese counterpart. Promotional materials produced by VNAT still
rely mainly on printed media that are often obsolete; branding is practically non-existent; official Vietnamese marketing seems unable to
take advantage of the Internet. Fortunately,
the country itself seems attractive enough to
have increased its market volume in Spain six
times since 1999, but absolute numbers of
Spanish arrivals in Vietnam are still far below
their potential.
3.2 COMPARISON WITH
OTHER SEA COUNTRIES
Thailand is the best-known Southeast Asian
destination in Spain. Nevertheless, Thailand
seems to be losing traction over the last two
years, which creates an opportunity for Vietnam. There is increased competition however
from other newcomers such as Cambodia and
the Philippines. As most Spanish tourists take
tours of the countries they visit in Southeast
Asia, this offers an opening for combined promotion with some of Vietnam’s neighbours
(Laos, Cambodia, even Thailand).
TRAVEL DISTRIBUTION
SYSTEM
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TRAVEL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
4.1 AIRLINES
One serious problem Vietnam faces in its promotional activities in Spain is the lack of a direct air link between the two countries. To fly
to Vietnam Spaniards may have to make one or
even two connections.
4.2 TOUR OPERATORS
& TRAVEL AGENTS
The number of travel mediators reached an alltime high of 4,220 in 2003. Of this number,
tour operators or wholesalers had a share of
about 12%, with the rest being travel agents or
retailers.
Spanish tour operators are highly concentrated. Most of them belong to AMAVE (Spanish Association of Travel Wholesalers), but
some important companies that play a central
role in long-haul travel, such as Catai and
Kuoni, are not members of the group. Many
Spanish tour operators are owned by air companies (Mundicolor/Iberia) or other European
tour operators (Ambassador Tours/TUI).
The current members of AMAVE have combined revenue of over €1,900 million and staff
of over 2,500 employees. Altogether there are
over 400 wholesalers operating in the Spanish
market. Though there are no official data, Ambassador Tours, Politours, Travelplan, Kuoni
and Catai seem to concentrate over 90% of the
Southeast Asian market, including Vietnam.
See their addresses and websites below.
Travel agents are represented by AEDAVE
(Spanish Association of Travel Agents). Many
of them are owned by or affiliated with main
tour operators, while independent travel
agents make for a small part of the market.
However, when it comes to special interests
they are very important for faraway destinations such as Vietnam. See their addresses and
websites below.
MEMBERS
Ambassador Tours, S.A.
Politours, S.A.
Club de Vacaciones, S.A.
Pullmantur, S.A.
Club 5 Estrellas, S.A.
Royal Vacaciones
Condor Vacaciones, S.A.
Rhodasol / Turimar (G.Tivoli)
Julia Tours, S.A.
Touralp
Tiempo Libre/Mundicolor, S.A.
Trapsatur, S.A.
Travelplan, S.A.
Panavision / C.A Fondo, S.A.
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4.3 RESERVATIONS SYSTEMS
Travel agencies are feeling the combined crunch of reduced revenue and new travel distribution tools
such as reservation systems and increased access to the Internet, used by their former customers.
Iberia reduced their commissions to zero from January 2004. Increasingly, airlines (including lowcost companies) are becoming direct sellers trying to turn their passengers into customers by offering
inclusive tours, fly and drive arrangements and other complex services.
At the same time, Central Reservations Systems (CRS) and global travel companies to be found online allow customers to book and pay for travel services without going to a travel agency. Spanish
consumers have direct access to US-based global travel companies (Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia, Excite and others) and their European competitors like OPODO. OPODO was founded in 2001 and its
owners are nine European airlines (including Iberia) and CRS Amadeus. Asian offers from OPODO to
the Spanish market only include China and Thailand.
4.4 THE INTERNET
Internet navigation plays an increasing role
among potential Spanish travellers. Already
close to 40% of the population are Internet
users and their numbers are growing by leaps
and bounds.
USERS
POPULATION
2000
5,387,800
40,827,300
13.2 %
ITU
2004
14,095,451
43,435,136
32.5 %
Nielsen / NetRatings
2006
17,142,198
44,351,186
38.7 %
Nielsen / NetRatings
YEAR
% POP.
USAGE SOURCE
The most recent data on Internet use by potential Spanish tourists date from 2004 and have
surely increased since then. At that time, 12%
of Spanish tourists (25% of Madrid residents,
21% of Catalonia residents) used the Internet
to plan their travel. A large majority (84%)
looked for information on travel and accommodation, but 29% made a reservation and 5%
paid for their trips online. As in most developed countries, the Internet has become one of
the main sources for travel information in
Spain, making Destination Management Organizations’ (DMO) websites a crucial part of
their marketing.
USE OF THE INTERNET TO PLAN TRAVEL
BY SPANISH TOURIST (%)
Used the Internet
12.1 %
Don't know / No answer
9.4 %
Do not use the Internet
78.6 %
Source: Movimientos Turísticos
de los Españoles (Familitur) . IET.
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PROMOTING VIETNAM
IN SPAIN
5
PROMOTING VIETNAM IN SPAIN
5.1 CONSUMER PROMOTIONS
Careful selection of media is necessary to ensure the best possible coverage of your target
markets.
For most purposes, adverts in national newspapers (especially when they coincide with
travel articles on Vietnam) are the most effective way of generating high awareness of the
product to a wide audience.
PRESS AND ADVERTISING
National printed media are one of the main
sources considered by potential holidaymakers
at the decision-making stage. Travel programmes on TV provide unusual and innovative holiday ideas.
The main Spanish dailies are:
• El País (2 million readers/day)
• El Mundo (1.3 million readers/day)
• El Periódico (0.85 million readers/day)
• ABC (0.84 million readers/day)
• La Vanguardia (0.65 million readers/day)
• El Correo (0.59 million readers/day)
• La Voz de Galicia (0.57 million readers/day)
Overall, general information papers are seen as
the best way to reach long-haul travellers.
Weekly magazines published by national papers are an excellent medium for travel awareness.
No weekly magazines are exclusively dedicated
to travel and tourism. Among monthly publications related to travel, National Geographic
(1.1 million readers) and Viajes National Geographic (0.33 million readers) are widely read
by affluent travellers. Spanish media such as
Revista Viajar, Revista de Viajes and others
have a limited readership.
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TELEVISION
Television advertising is expensive and beyond
the budgets of most operators. On the other
hand, television is number one in penetration
of national markets among the media.
Spaniards devote 3 hours and 40 minutes per
day to watching television. The main open
channels are Antenna 3 (24% share), Telecoms
(23%) and TVE1 (20%). Among travel-related
channels, Discovery, Viajar and National Geographic are at the top.
HOLIDAY SHOWS
• SITC (Barcelona, May) counted 200,000 visitors in 2005. Catalonia (where Barcelona is located) is the main long-haul tourism
generating area of Spain.
• ExploOcio (Madrid, October) also had a high
number of visitors.
• ExpoVacaciones (Bilbao, May) had over
270,000 visitors.
• Feria Internacional del Turismo (Valencia,
April) reached 45,000.
5.2 TRADE PROMOTIONS
It is highly recommended to consult with the
Vietnamese Embassy in Spain (Embajada de
Vietnam en España, C/ Arturo Soria 201 - 1A
28043 Madrid – España. Phone: 0034 91
5102867 - Fax: 0034 91 4157067 http://www.embavietnam-madrid.org/) before
planning any promotional activity for trade.
It is widely recognized how much people are
influenced in their travel decisions by articles
and films they may see about a given destination. It is therefore of key importance that
journalists and press contacts are kept well
aware of Vietnam and are positively inclined to
report about it on a regular basis.
SPANISH TRAVEL
TRADE PUBLICATIONS
Articles in the travel trade press are an effective method of distributing product information and increasing awareness. There are a
number of travel trade publications in Spain.
The publications should be contacted for details on advertising rates. The main ones are
• EDITUR. Weekly, both in print and online.
Best-known trade publication. News and
analysis of market trends and developments
(http://www.editur.info)
• SPIC. Online, with daily information
(http://www.revista-spic.net/)
• La Voz Digital
(http://www.lavozdelturismo.es/)
• The Tourist
(http://www.thetourist.es/)
PUBLIC RELATIONS
ACTIVITIES INCLUDE
• Maintaining close contact with general and
specialist media in Spain
• Influencing and encouraging television stations and specialized channels to feature Vietnam as an ideal holiday destination
• Maintaining a constant activity of press releases geared to increase awareness of Vietnam
in the Spanish media
• Inviting selected travel writers and photographers to visit Vietnam, focusing primarily on
the national media.
• Encouraging the specialized travel press to
run articles featuring Vietnam. These media
are widely distributed among Spanish travel
professionals who need to be kept well informed on travel developments in Vietnam.
TRADE FAIRS
The main travel trade fair in Spain is FITUR
(http://www.ifema.es/ferias/fitur/default.html).
Usually held at the end of January. It is usually
preceded by FITUR CONGRESOS, a MICE
fair. FITUR is devoted to the trade. It had
44,000 visitors in 2006 with 1,984 exhibitors
and 83,815 sq. metres of space. FITUR has become one of the big events in the world and
has a special resonance in Latin America.
FACILITATING TRAVEL
Visa requirements are one of the main barriers
for Spaniards visiting foreign countries. It
would be very welcome if the Vietnamese and
Spanish governments could reach an agreement to waive such requirements. Meanwhile,
Vietnamese travel professionals should make it
very clear to their counterparts that this is
nothing individuals can do much about.
REPRESENTATION
To promote your product in Spain consider
having someone representing you locally to act
as a sales representative, a reservation contact
or both.
5.3 PUBLIC RELATIONS
The aim of a public relations campaign is to
encourage potential visitors to come to Vietnam and at the same time create a positive
image of the country in Spain. Individual operators cannot accomplish this. It is the task of
VNAT.
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A similar situation prevails for airport taxes. It
was very difficult for Spaniards to accept the
inconvenience of having to pay a tax to leave
Vietnam when many may have spent all their
cash down to the last dong or dollar before
going home. But according to Vietnam Airlines, the national flag carrier, starting on November 1st, the departure fee for all
international flights departing from Vietnam
will be included in the ticket price. For the
convenience of customers, after the new policy
takes effect in November, this fee will be paid
at the time of buying an international ticket
from any airline with flights departing from
Vietnam, and customers will no longer need to
pay a separate fee at the airport.
5.4 SALES/PROMOTIONAL
VISITS
Vietnamese professionals willing to make a
visit to their Spanish counterparts should bear
in mind the following:
THE PRODUCT
• Should be high quality and suitable for Spanish consumers
• For affluent Spaniards, image counts for
much
• You should have a thorough knowledge of the
product you are trying to sell—access routes,
selling points, etc.
• Brochures should be of good quality, supported by visual materials (pictures, CDs, websites), and include rates sheets in Euro
• Prices quoted to tour operators should be
lower than the published retail price and open
to negotiation depending on size of order, reliability, etc.
THE VISIT
• Talk to the appropriate staff at the Vietnamese embassy to advise you on how to organize your visit and, possibly, have doors
opened for you.
• Make sure you are travelling at the appropri-
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ate time for the business you are seeking. Tour
operators should be visited in the spring of the
year previous to the one in which you want to
sell your product. Avoid public holidays (see
list below) and major promotions or trade
events.
• Know the main selling points of your product.
• Do not expect Spanish professionals to have a
deep knowledge of Vietnam, unless they specialize in your country.
• Do your homework before going to find out
who are your real customers. Avoid trying to
sell to people who are already working for your
competitors.
• Bring a plentiful supply of business cards
(both in Vietnamese and Spanish/English) and
brochures for any contacts you want to make.
Serious preparation is the key to a successful
sales/promotional visit. Gather as much information as you can on the Spanish market and
select those contacts best suited to you.
DOING BUSINESS
IN SPAIN
6
DOING BUSINESS IN SPAIN
6.1. NATIONAL HOLIDAYS
Other than their yearly holidays, Spaniards
have a number of public holidays over the
working year. Some of them are national days;
others are only observed in the different autonomous regions (see above, under
Overview).
National holidays are
• January 1: New Year’s Day
• January 6: Epiphany
Although there are only two official holidays in
the Christmas and New Year period, businesses do not work at full speed between December 24 and January 6. Spaniards also tend
to take puentes or bridges, meaning that many
will try to take time off when a working day
falls between a holiday on a Thursday and a
Saturday or between a Sunday and a holiday
on a Tuesday. Most offices, both public and
private, are closed on Saturdays and Sundays.
August is a very inconvenient time to travel for
business, as many companies will be closed for
a part or the whole of the month.
• May 1: Labour Day
• Variable: Good Friday
• Variable: Corpus Christi
• July 25: St. James
• August 15: Assumption Day
• October 12: National Day
• November 1: All Souls Day
• December 6: Constitution Day
• December 8: Immaculate Conception Day
• December 25: Christmas Day
It is advisable to check on holidays in the different autonomous regions before taking a trip
to them. Information can be found at
http://www.planetware.com/national-information/spain-tourist-offices-national-holidays-e.htm#holidays
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6.2. WORKING AND
LEISURE HOURS
Even though habits are changing quickly since
accession to the European Union, you should
bear in mind that Spaniards have unusual
ways of work and leisure. Lunch usually starts
after 2pm and dinner is often taken between 9
and 11pm. Most offices begin working at 9am.
If you are invited to go out at night, bear in
mind that the activities can last until very late
indeed.
6.3. BUSINESS ETIQUETTE
• Although many Spanish businesspeople
speak English, it is a good idea for foreigners
to have their materials printed in Spanish.
• Business in Spain is often a result of personal
relationships. While the relationship building
process takes time, it is imperative to gain such
relationships if you are to be effective in Spain.
• Be prepared for complicated business negotiations. Often numerous people will be speaking simultaneously.
• Handshaking is the normal way of greeting
people. Men who are close friends will often
exchange a hug.
APPEARANCE
• Spaniards dress more formally than many
other Europeans. It is important to project
good taste in apparel.
• Women who are close friends usually meet
and part with a kiss on each cheek.
• Business attire includes well-made, conservative suits and ties. Avoid flashy colours, as it is
not popular to stand out.
• Negotiations are usually an extremely long
and arduous task; do not be in a rush to close a
deal in Spain.
• Shorts are not usually worn in public.
• Dining is usually associated with establishing
business in Spain. You will often be invited to
lunch or dinner.
• In Spain, crossing your fingers has several
good meanings, usually things such as "protection" or "good luck".
BEHAVIOUR
• The family is very important thing to most
people in Spain.
• Time is relaxed. Spaniards have become
rather punctual. They often consider deadlines
an objective but do not become overly concerned if the deadline is not achieved.
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LIST OF USEFUL
CONTACTS
7
LIST OF USEFUL CONTACTS
7.1 PROFESSIONAL
ASSOCIATIONS
7.3 MAIN SPECIALIST
TRAVEL AGENCIES
• Bidon5. Expediciones y Viajes
http://www.bidon5.es/
• AMAVE (Spanish Association
of Tour Operators)
http://www.amave.org/indexnew.asp
• AEDAVE
(Professional Association
of Spanish Travel Agents
http://www.aedave.com/publico/aedave/aedave.shtm
7.2 MAIN TOUROPERATORS
FOR VIETNAM
• Ambassador Tours
http://www.ambassadortours.es/static/3933.P
DF
• Catai Tours
http://www.catai.es/
• Caravanserai Viajes
http://www.caravanseraiviajes.com/
• Club Marco Polo
https://www.clubmarcopolo.es/principal.htm
• Ko-Samui Viatges
http://www.ko-samui.com/spanish/adventure/welcome.html
• Nobel Tours
http://www.nobeltours.com/
• Pasaporte3
http://www.pasaporte3.com/
• Terres Llunyanes
http://www.terresllunyanes.com/
• Excellence Tours
http://www.excellencetours.com/
• Transrutas
http://www.transrutas.com/
• Kuoni
http://193.135.59.205/kuoni/folletos.asp
• Politours
http://www.politours.com:8082/indexlt.htm
• Trekking y Aventura
http://www.trekkingyaventura.com
• Viajes Planeta Azul
http://www.planetaazul.net/
• Viajes Tuareg
http://www.tuaregviatges.es/
Nhµ xuÊt b¶n Lao §éng X· Héi
ChÞu tr¸ch nhiÖm xuÊt b¶n: Gi¸m ®èc NguyÔn §×nh Thiªm
Tr×nh bµy: HAKI
§¨ng ký kÕ ho¹ch xuÊt b¶n sè: 731-2006/CXB/8-187/L§XH cÊp ngµy 23-10-2006
Sè lưîng: 400 quyÓn
Ngµy nép lưu chiÓu: Th¸ng 10 n¨m 2006
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