The managing director of Viajes 2000, Jon Cortina, cannot conceal his satisfaction at the company’s progress during 2007, despite the fact that the prospects for 2008 are not so promising for its travel management activity, for either private or business customers. “The truth is that 2007 was an excellent year for Viajes 2000 –he explains for our magazine. We reached record sales levels, at around 29 million euros, a figure that is very good given the size of the agency and which represents a significant improvement on previous years… We would be happy to maintain this tendency in the coming years”.
Question – This May, Viajes 2000 is planning to launch a new line of business, Accessible Tourism (announced in this magazine), using an on-line reservations platform. What are the business prospects of this new product that reinforces the CEOSA agency’s commitment to “tourism for all”?
Jon Cortina – We are trying to diversify our business, and this is a possible new line of business, where we have certain initial advantages over other companies: we understand the issues of disabled people better and this enables us to commit, fully aware of their needs, to this new line of business that we hope will be well-received by the sector.
Q – Are there any similar products to “Viajes acceSIbles” in the domestic or international markets?
JC – Not like we have produced, no. We have created a product, the accessibility of which we have tested personally; we are trying to supply our customers with first-hand information that is as reliable as possible… and, furthermore, we have created a communication platform, a website that is also totally accessible, with a reservation engine that can be accessed by any disabled person. In these terms, exactly like this, no, there is nothing comparable in either the domestic or international market.

Other sectors
In addition to this new product range, the ONCE Corporation travel agency is determined to continue growing other traditional lines of business, such as Incentives or activities related to the organisation and running of conferences and conventions. “This segment, known in the sector as CCI, has been one of our biggest areas ever since we started working in it in 2003 –Cortina explains. The fact is that it is working brilliantly; we are working for top-tier companies in the international market that are highly satisfied with the service that we are providing. The majority are long-standing customers and everything leads us to believe that we will continue to grow in this way.
Q – A third of the way through 2008 and the “high season” just around the corner, what indications of evolution in the sector can you see this year? As with the property sector, are we entering a lean period?
JC – The first test of a season is usually Holy Week and, as we have all seen in the news, generally speaking this year has been bad. It is true that it was very early, halfway through March, and this is usually bad for tourism… We’ll see; the studies, the information that we have on prospects of progress in the sector are weak. It is anticipated that there will be a greater downturn in the holiday segment than in business travel, it is not clear to what extent the latter will be affected… The indications are that we have a tough season ahead.
Q – What is Viajes 2000’s recipe for dealing with it?
JC – At the moment, I would highlight our efforts to improve customer services, something that concerns us, something that we are always thinking about. We have already embarked on several projects led by the Quality department, in order to offer customers services with greater added value, that are more personalised. Furthermore, we have invested in technology and in completely reorganising our Madrid Call Center.