Jordi Ficapal, the pedagogical and innovation director at the Sant Ignasi Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, revealed the keys to success in the tourism sector in the webinar hosted by LaSalle Tecnova Barcelona, Tech Demo Day – New Business Models in Tourism.
Jordi Ficapal, the pedagogical and innovation director at the Sant Ignasi Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, revealed the keys to success in the tourism sector in the webinar hosted by LaSalle Tecnova Barcelona, Tech Demo Day – New Business Models in Tourism. The event also featured participation from Montse Peñarroya, CEO of Quadrant Alfa, a company dedicated to regional digitization, and Project Manager of the Undergraduate Programme in Digital Business & Innovation at LaSalle (Ramon Llull University).
According to the university professor, the new success factors are:
- Hygiene and safety, first and foremost.
- Nurturing and improving experiences. Facilities are taken for granted. The product is the impact of the facilities on customer experience.
- Greater hospitality, care, and attention to detail. People-focused service is of the utmost importance. Although it may seem like a contradiction as we are using more technology and maintaining physical distancing, a greater human component is needed.
- The prominence of nearby destinations that can be reached by a private, clean, and sustainable vehicle.
Regarding new business models in tourism, Montse Peñarroya listed Hotel Axel as an example of adapting the value proposition to customer needs: as a result of the pandemic, the establishment is now offering free supplemental travel insurance, enabling guests to feel more secure in their bookings.
Along these lines, Ficapal added the example of hotels in Barcelona that have adapted their offerings to the local market and the digitization of exhibitions and virtual visits at museums and other cultural and leisure institutions.
Both experts highlighted that digital marketing has become a key activity for companies, along with hygiene, leading them to reconsider the value chain.
In conclusion, the speakers stressed that innovation models have been based on adaptation and not on disruptive change.