Spain’s Biggest Tourism Group Risks Losing Billions After Being Suspected for Collusion & Sharing Sensitive Information
Several travel agencies and their parent companies could face a ten per cent turnover fine, as they will be subject to an investigation over suspected cartel behaviour locally and internationally.
Spain’s competition watchdog, the National Commission of Markets and Competition, shared the news earlier this week and pointed out that the companies are accused of being involved in activities that are against both Spanish and European antitrust laws, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
The activities include sharing customers, involvement in secret agreements for the allocation of public tenders, and the exchange of sensitive data.
According to Reuters, the ten companies under investigation are known entities in the country, such as the retail company El Corte Ingles, the Mallorca-based tourism group Barcelo, and Wamos and IAG7.
The Commission’s final decision on the matter will be determined within two years, as a thorough and comprehensive investigation is ongoing.
Barcelo Might Lose Billions, Considering High Rates of Profit
The Annual Report of Barcelo Group for 2022 shows a positive trend, with the company having a 103 per cent increase in the volume of business, amounting to €5.7 billion.
In addition, there was a five per cent increase in businesses, indicating 277 hotels and 4.3 million members – a 20 per cent increase from the previous year.
The report also shows that 1.5 million bookings were recorded in Barcelo’s hotels, which is a 25 per cent increase.
The group had a total of €4.3 billion social cash flow – a 121 per cent increase, while €1.7 million was invested in projects.
Barcelo is also dedicated to being more environmentally friendly, as the report shows that 100 per cent of hotels in Spain have green energy. The emissions caused per stay are set at 7.6 kilograms of carbon dioxide, while the energy intensity is 33.8 kWh per stay, which is 20 per cent down from the previous report.
The same group has 277 across 25 countries, offering 61,996 rooms for guests. More particularly, the highest number of Barcelo hotels are located in the United States; 125 of those, Spain (78), Mexico (20), Dominican Republic (six), Costa Rica (four), Tunisia (six), UAE (four), Czechia (four), Cuba (three), Maldives (three), Turkiye (three), Italy (three), Morocco (six), Portugal (two) and Poland (two).
In the remaining countries, such as Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Aruba, Germany, Slovenia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Tanzania, Oman, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia, they have one hotel, respectively.
There are 24 new hotels expected to be opened across five new countries, which would offer 5,587 guest rooms for customers.
