Travel Advisors expects to grow 20% this year and expands its focus on the MICE segment
The Travel Advisors Guild (TAG) expects a joint growth of 20% in the turnover of its associated agencies, which will increase from 500 million euros in 2024 to 600 million this year. This was highlighted this morning at a press conference at the NH Gijón hotel by its president, Leixuri Vilar, and CEO, Rafael Isón, in the framework of the Encuentro entre Amigos 2025, which the organization is holding for the first time in Asturias.
The growth, as Vilar explained, has been fundamentally organic, since the two agencies incorporated this year have a reduced size. Beyond volume, we have grown in quality, professionalization and cooperation between partners," said the president, who recalled that TAG currently has 28 independent agencies and more than 800 professionals.
The association has recently been admitted as an affiliate member of UN Tourism, becoming the only Spanish entity of independent agencies that is part of the organization. This recognition, in the words of Rafael Isún, “reinforces our visibility and encourages us to continue working on internationalization, without losing sight of the fact that we still have a long way to go in the national market”.
Más weight of MICE
The breakdown of activity shows a distribution of business in which 65% corresponds to corporate travel (Business Travel), 15% to the MICE segment (meetings, incentives, congresses and events) and 5% to tailor-made holidays, a line of business that has gained strength in the last few years;This line has gained strength in recent years thanks to the creation of specialized divisions in some of the partner agencies, such as Triana or MT Global, and the relaunch of the common brand Nativo
.
Asú Isún explained, the sector has experienced a “rebound effect” after the pandemic with a corporate events boom that shows no signs of slowing down. “MICE offers superior profitability to Business Travel, which is still heavily conditioned by price pressure and reduced margins,”, he warned.
The average productivity ratio among the group's agencies stands at 700,000 euros per employee, a figure that, according to the CEO, reflects the effort made in operational efficiency and digitalization. In this regard, TAG is promoting new artificial intelligence projects to improve management tools and support agencies in their technological transformation.
Asturias, venue of the “Encuentro entre Amigos”
The announcement was made on the occasion of the Encuentro entre Amigos, the annual event that brings together the associates and their main partners;This year's event was attended by Turismo de Asturias, the Oviedo City Council and Oviedo Congresos. A total of 150 professionals will participate in this edition, which focuses on business diversification and strengthening the collaborative network between agencies.
During the presentation, Lucía González, owner of the local agency Lu Travel and host of the event, highlighted the suitability of Asturias as a MICE destination, with “a modern infrastructure, rich landscape and gastronomy, and more than 200.000 m² of venues prepared to host major events. In this context, the community is promoting the Asturias Meeting Land project, aimed at positioning it as a reference in meeting and congress tourism.