Since late May, we can call ourselves the proud owners of the GSTC Professional certificate in Sustainable Tourism. To us, it’s a really big deal to participate in increasing sustainable tourism knowledge and practices and to advocate for best practices and spreading awareness. Together with our friends and partners from PLUS DMC, we’ve all made a commitment to put Sustainability on our agenda and help each other advance in the matter!  

Across all our destinations, we will help turning words into tangible actions and make sure our providers and collaborators do the same. We want to support the Spanish Tourism and help preserve it as best we can, by keeping close contact with local stakeholders and make sure their sustainable principles are as legit as ours. We hope to be joined on this journey with all our customers as well, in order for us All, to be an ongoing part of the Solution!

Travelmatch Norway is approaching and we are especially proud to exhibit this year! Spain will be “Destination of the Year” and we are in collaboration with the Spanish Tourist Office, to show off the best that Spain has to offer.  This will also mean that all participants who have meetings with us, will enter in the draw of different prizes, and come see us soon.

It will be especially nice to touch base with all our customers again, after a very rough year for our industry. Luckily most us have kept it going and are looking forward to work with Group Travel again.

Even though we won’t be able to sit with our partners in PLUS DMC Group this year with our orange themed tables, we will virtually support each other as we’ve done through this whole period. Virtual meetings will be exchanged with personal meetings soon, and we can’t wait to welcome everybody back to Spain.

Hasta la Vista!

We are very excited to host our very first virtual workshop together with our partners in PLUS DMC Group. The event will take place over a week, from the 22-26^th of March and it’s absolutely free to join. It’s been a while since we last attended a fair or showing presentations from our beautiful destinations, so we are eager, to say the least, to meet up virtually with our Nordic customers, once again.

Sign up Here;

For the past year, one of the great things about being part of a network like PLUS DMC, is being able to share experiences and join forces to find solutions that will benefit both our customers and us. Being able to offer a one-stop-shop of experts representing 9 destinations in Europe, is quite an accomplishment, and we aim to expand as soon as possible. Looking forward to seeing you all virtually soon!

I don’t think we’ve ever been more ready and glad for a year to end, as is the case with 2020. Just one year ago, it was unthinkable to even imagine how the year would hit our business and daily lives, but we’ve kept going despite everything.

We know that many of our colleagues, partners and friends are still struggling, but we hope to be able to cooperate again soon and that standing together will bring us forward. We will adapt to every measure for safe travel and keep on taking care of groups that are visiting Spain, the beautiful country we live in. Sun, beach, great food & wine and exciting activities are awaiting, and we’ll do our utmost to create new adventures.

In the end, we consider ourselves to be very lucky, even if the pandemic has hit our industry hard this past year. We are certain that the future will bring tourism back to life, and we are really looking forward to 2021 being a HAPPY NEW YEAR!      

If there is one tradition common over the whole country of Spain, it’s going once a week to your local market, El Mercadillo. They can be found in the big cities, like the Rastro in Madrid, and in the smallest towns and villages. Here you’ll find everything from fresh fruit & vegetables to a new pair of pantyhose;)

Luckily, the corona virus has not had too much of an impact on this tradition, seen that the markets are held outside and have independent stands. The only restriction to maintain social distancing, is that capacity is limited, and you might have to wait your turn to enter. El Mercadillo is a great initiative to get weekly, fresh goods straight from a farm and other necessities, right in your local little village. Whether it rains, snows or the sun shining bright, the market will arrive on time. We support this sustainable way of commerce and hope the tradition will continue for many years to come!

As summer comes to an end, I’d like to tell you about a great happening currently going on in many regions of Spain. I’m referring to The Wine Harvest.

Several varieties of grapes are being harvested as we speak, to become tasteful wine for your next visit. Under normal circumstances, this would mean celebration of wine fairs and local festivities, but to keep social distancing, we’ll have to be patient and wait out all celebrations. Isn’t that a wonderful parallel, though? With wine it’s also a little bit like that; The longer you wait, the better it tastes!

Maybe we haven’t been able to travel as much this year, see different culture or taste other food and wine, but we have spent time with our families, visited nearby sites and we’ve gotten used to working from home. Not all too bad, really!

So, we’ll keep the good wine in storage until you can all come back and visit, and then we’ll all raise our glasses in a common toast; Cheers!

There is still some uncertainty of what will be the new NORMAL for the travel industry, in the future. Borders have just opened for tourist from Schengen zone, and both individual and group tourism can start again! Most of the hotels are opening on the 1^st of July and we constantly get updated information about new rules for security measures, cleaning, F&B, meetings and events. Still to be confirmed are bus transfer requirements and final capacities for restaurants, boat trips, venues and outdoor events. We are in the loop and will keep you informed on any major changes!

Upgrade Spain has just been rewarded with a certificate for Responsible Tourism from the Spanish Government. This doesn’t only mean a commitment from our side when we arrange stays and events on the peninsula and the islands, but also comes with the responsibility to fulfil the requirements of our customers.  We want to ensure SAFE TRAVEL, as far as possible, being alert to every sign and health measures. The land under the sun is awaiting your next visit, and we’re here to help you have an amazing time! Have a great summer, everyone!

If there is one thing all our groups have in common, it’s that they love to spend time outside in fresh air.  It’s a good thing that the weather in Spain permits it all year around!

In the past, we have organized many successful outdoor events and activities, from cozy dinners, through city quiz and movie shows to beach activities, even weddings!

Nowadays it looks like we are facing a new reality when it comes to events, where things like social distancing, space lineups, individual serving and extra cautions, need to be considered. Luckily, we have a lot of outdoor spaces and venues to choose from here, which makes it all the easier to arrange your next event.

Outdoor terraces and rooftops have finally opened all over Spain this week and boy have we missed them! They are part of our lifestyle and are frequently visited by all generations. It is great to again see live and happy faces on the streets and hear the buzz and clinging glasses! So, who’s up for the next round around the table? We are – Cheers!

If there’s one thing Spain is quite famous for, it’s keeping the tradition of celebrating festivities. Some of these celebrations are very local, in one specific village, but quite a few are also regional, like today’s 23^rd of April in Catalonia, which honors the legend of St. Jordi.  This year we have had to cancel or postpone many of our Festivities, like for example Easter celebration or Feria de Abril in Andalucia, Las Fallas in Valencia and it’s already decided that the San Fermin in Pamplona, will not take place in July.

Today’s celebration of Sant Jordi is also postponed, as we would normally hit the streets to buy books and roses for our loved ones or take part in different school activities with our children. The only thing we can do for now is to #STAYATHOME and hope that things are soon back to normal. Because just as St. Jordi beat the evil dragon on a day like this, we hope to soon beat this evil virus, and once again take part in our beautiful, crowdy celebrations. So long, Sant Jordi!

We are witnessing strange times these days, that has a devastating impact on the travel industry. We are learning an important lesson both in private and professional lives. Things we’ve always taken for granted, are now put in perspective, and core values are once again on the agenda. We see the importance of unity, teamwork and respect for people working frontline to prevent the Covid-19 from further extension, and the rest of us, owe it to them, to stay at home.

Although it’s sad to see our beautiful destinations with empty streets and closed-down shops, we know that the vibrant, local life, will once return. People will get to travel again and business will go on as ususal. There will be moments where we probably wish we could hit the reset button for 2020, but it’s necessary to look ahead and just learn from this experience. We’d like to quote the director of WHO,  Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to finish up;

“This is the time for facts, not fear. This is the time for science, not rumors. This is the time for solidarity, not stigma. We are all in this together, and we can only stop it together.”