GAT will attend Fitur2021
We are just a month away from the world tourism event. FITUR2021 will take place from 19 to 23 May in the IFEMA halls.
Despite the still uncertain scenario on the sector’s horizon, the celebration of a very special edition of the leading trade fair for national and international tourism is becoming clearer and clearer.
We at GAT are very pleased and happy to be able to announce our participation. You can find us in Hall 10 stand E22.
We are already working intensively on the design and conceptualisation of a stand that will be an extension of GAT’s differentiated management experience.
On this happy occasion, we interviewed our president Emiliano Garayar, who gave us some powerful reflections on the present and future of the sector and the company.
2020 has gone down in the history of the tourism sector in our country as an annus horribilis. At GAT, do you believe that the glass is half full or half empty?
“From the perspective of the sector I think it has been the biggest collapse in the history of tourism. And we, as an active player in the sector, have logically suffered it first hand, suffering a drop in turnover of around 40% (a figure significantly lower than that of the sector) and entering into “contained” operating losses in the 2020 financial year. That said, GAT sees this crisis as a great opportunity to consolidate the structural changes in the market that were being sensed, and which go in the direction in which GAT is unbeatably positioned as a leader in the independent hotel management sector: a commitment to specialisation in hotel management that is not linked to the ownership of assets and is not necessarily associated with the ownership of the brand. Our operational efficiency and know-how in the incorporation and rapid turnover of assets will allow us to emerge substantially strengthened from this crisis. Just one more eloquent fact that proves it: we enter 2020 with a portfolio of 1,000 rooms in operation, and we leave 2020 with a portfolio of 3,000 rooms in operation. In other words, in the year of crisis, we have multiplied our portfolio by a factor of 3. And our pipeline continues to grow, which will allow us to announce new additions and alliances very soon”.
2021 and this year’s FITUR seem to want to claim themselves as the turning point for the gradual recovery of the sector. What can companies, businesses, do in our private sphere? What has GAT done not only to survive but also to emerge stronger?
“At GAT we are profoundly Kennedian, and we concentrate our efforts on those variables that we can influence: those that are within our sphere of decision making. Macro”, the pace of vaccination, aid, connectivity, etc., must be taken into consideration.
must be taken into consideration in shaping our strategy, but GAT must chart and navigate its own path in this highly variable and critical market environment. The first thing GAT has done is to react immediately to the impact of March 2020, putting all its assets into hibernation within days, taking care of its employees, suppliers and properties. The second, in parallel, has been to engage in constructive dialogue with investors and properties, aligning our mutual interests in the best common interest, and cementing and reinforcing the complicity of a long-term relationship. Thirdly, we have significantly strengthened our balance sheet and financial resources to comfortably meet all our commercial, operational and financial commitments, and to cover the costs of our structure in a long period without sales as a result of closures and confinements. And finally, we have presented ourselves as a solvent and reliable operator to investors and properties to value their hotel assets and investments, and they have recognised this, entrusting us with more than 1,600 hotel rooms distributed in six holiday assets in this COVID period and more than 500 units of medium and long term accommodation (residences and holiday flats)”.
The growth and expansion of the company is an objective reality. What are the figures for GAT’s success despite these months of wandering in the desert?
“The best indicator of success is market recognition, and this comes when investors and properties entrust the value of their assets to GAT. This has been the case during this period, and continues to be the case, with world-class institutional investors, who recognise our status as market leaders in the segment of independent hotel operation and management in Spain. We are deeply grateful to them, and we do our best to renew and retain that confidence every day. As I have said before, we have exponentially increased our market share.
2021 and this year’s FITUR seem to want to claim themselves as the turning point for the gradual recovery of the sector. What can companies, businesses, do in our private sphere? What has GAT done not only to survive but also to emerge stronger?
“At GAT we are deeply Kennedian, and we concentrate our efforts on those variables that we can influence: those that are within our own sphere of influence, and those that are within our own sphere of influence, and those that are within our own sphere of influence.
As far as GAT is concerned, we have to gain size and position ourselves in the top 10 of Spanish operators in a short period of time, both through organic and inorganic growth. We are ready for this and we have the know-how and financial resources to become an independent hotel platform of reference in which to integrate operators, and to become one of the protagonists in the much-needed consolidation process of the Spanish hotel industry, with special emphasis on the holiday market. In addition, our strategy is to consolidate and expand, opening up to third parties, our own marketing channel – GAT X – specialising in experiential, sports and nature tourism, and aligned with our values of sustainability and social responsibility towards our stakeholders and, in particular, towards our host communities, highlighting all their cultural, heritage, environmental and social attributes with full respect for their people”.
What will GAT have to say at the next edition of Fitur in May 2021? What can we find at the stand? Are you inviting us?
“You are all invited, with a mask, respecting the capacity, and keeping a safe distance. This year GAT is promoting not one but two stands at FITUR: GAT Gestión’s own, as has been our tradition for almost a decade; and that of Marina D’Or, whose management we have been entrusted with and of which we are very proud to be part of its rebirth as a unique destination on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. We want to present on our own stand our renewed and expanded portfolio of holiday assets, and our presence in mountain and nature tourism, where we have great expectations of growth and we predict a great future, and, especially, our new wholesale distribution channel for experiential, sports, nature and adventure tourism: GAT X. Come and discover it! ”