The hospitality industry not only represents rest and tranquility, if I look at it as a tourist; but also passion and a lot of work, in addition to old memories, because my professional practice was carried out in a traditional hotel in Medellín, Colombia and I can assure you that I learned much more than I ever thought.
On this occasion I am very pleased to share the comments of two colleagues from Mexico and Argentina, who wrote to me as a result of the editorial "Digital Guests" of the last edition.
Luis Protti, owner of Lugra Hotel in the city of Miramar, on the Atlantic coast of Argentina, agrees with my statement about the new tourist trend and guests who now search for everything on the Internet. Luis happily tells us that his case the reservations by the network have increased in recent years, and totally in the last summer season.
Likewise, Ignacio Gómez, Reveneu Manager advisor of Best Western Mexico, is surprised with the advance in the use of the Internet by Mexican travelers, since it went from being used by 5% in 2000, to 55% so far in 2011.
And adding to these good comments from colleagues I share another concern that I have had for days, how do cruises affect the industry? I am referring to how many nights of accommodation the hotels in the port cities lose when the ships arrive.
In Nicaragua, for example, 50 international cruise ships arrived in the 2010-2011 season, most of these with more than two thousand cruise passengers per trip. In Mexico, the port of Chiapas received 12 ships during these first five months of 2011 and expects to receive another 22 during the second half of the year. In Honduras they expect more than 900 thousand cruise passengers to arrive this year and in the cruise season in Colombia (2010 – 2011) more than 200 ships have arrived in Cartagena.
This data is very good for tourism and helps the growth of the economy, but how much do they favor the hospitality industry? This is my perception, I look at it from the barrier, but I would like to know that of the professionals in the industry, who are the ones who can really talk about the subject.
I look forward to your comments. Write to me at [email protected]
