Tourism and leisure

The World Tourism Organization and the innovation hub Wakalua, working in collaboration with companies like BBVA, have launched a competition for startups in the world of tourism to find technological and innovative solutions that respond to the sector’s sustainability challenges.

Stores, restaurants and hotel chains in Spain are offering tourists from other countries the possibility of paying with their smartphones. Payments with QR codes allow companies to streamline the process and boost sales. Platforms like WeChat Pay and Alipay are central to the shopping experience of tourists from China, one of the most profitable for the country.

It's time for suitcases, airplanes, highways ... and it's the high season for tourism and travelling, an activity that has a huge economic impact around the world. In gross terms, this industry is most important to the United States, whereas in Spain it represents almost 15 percent of the GDP, with Catalonia and Spain's islands being the preferred destinations.

BBVA develops the infrastructure to allow El Corte Inglés to process Alipay mobile payments by Chinese tourists. Alipay is one of the most popular payment platforms in China.

Switzerland offers us a multitude of exciting destinations to visit. Unforgettable landscapes, international organizations and cities such as Geneva, Basel or Zurich make knowing the Swiss country a unique experience.

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants organisation and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) have established the 50 Best BBVA Scholarship, which will provide unique opportunities for aspiring chefs from all around the world.

A chronic deficit in infrastructure for telecommunications and logistics has hindered  Argentina’s competitiveness in the tourism industry. Even so, since 2015 the country has moved up seven positions in the World Economic Forum’s biannual report on Latin America.

BBVA launches Urban Discovery, an interactive tool open to everyone that analyzes the cities of Madrid, Barcelona and Mexico City through the prism of their commercial activity. The analysis led to the creation of new maps that redraw urban borders and identify the most touristic and residential areas or those where young people go shopping.

Madrid tourists spend more near monuments and museums than those in Barcelona. People living in Vila de Gràcia in Barcelona have the same lifestyle as those in the Madrid neighborhood of Malasaña. Sant Antoni and Poble Sec are places that are popular to go out to dinner and then for a drink, and in Madrid, the Lavapies neighborhood is undergoing a transformation toward more cultural activity.

Vacationing is easier with a smartphone at hand and a handful of essential apps for the beach, the mountain or the city. Whether to save on fuel, park in the shade or find the nearest public restroom, a millennial’s vacation wouldn’t be the same without a bit of digital help.

Free Wi-Fi, reservations by mobile phone or requesting a massage via WhatsApp. Travelers today are digital and hotels cannot ignore the needs of their guests – even though new concepts are appearing where disconnecting is in vogue, such as Digital Detox. Modern travelers can choose the option that best suits their needs.

BBVA Bancomer and the Mexico’s Ministry of Tourism (SECTUR) have presented a pioneering big data application that identifies trends and productivity in the country’s tourism destinations.

Almost 1.2 billion people – one out of every seven people in the planet – traveled abroad in 2015. And 37% of these international tourists chose their vacations based on the cultural offering of the country of destination: monuments, museums, festivals and folklore compete with the beaches and the sun over a business that moves billions of dollars every year.

Almost everything is ready for  El Celler de Can Roca’s historic visit to Chile, which will take place in just a bit over a month, from August 28th through September 4th. The Roca brothers are working on the final details of the menu they will offer during the dinners served at the nation’s capital.

After a period of steady decline, the prices of copper -Chile's main export product- now stand at levels close the average cost of production of the mining companies that operate in the country. This has prompted a drop, not only in the industry’s investment and employment rates, but also in Chile’s economic activity level as a whole.

Tourism in Latin America has increased considerably in recent years. In 2015, 96.6 million foreign tourists decided to visit the region, the highest figure in a decade. International arrivals at South America grew 4% last year, according to the World Tourism Organization.

Hi. My name's Raúl, I'm a communicator, Libra, my favorite color is blue and I travel around the world covering tourist experiences for my TV program in Paraguay.  Having said that, I want to start off this chronicle by being sincere. I'm one of those people who doesn't understand anything about the banking world. I can't tell a savings bank from a coffee machine. The first time I was asked if I wanted a current account, I asked if the current was to 110 or 220 watts. Yes –that's the level of my ignorance.

The revolution brought about by e-commerce  keeps breaking barriers. Not only has it changed how people sell and buy in the cities, it has also completely changed the life of a lot of people, and even entire towns, in rural areas.

He has traveled halfway around the world looking for the perfect picture. Today, after winning over 40 international awards and the recognition of the photography world, Pere Soler (BBVA Spain) continues to see the world through his camera lens.

Turkey shows the macroeconomic profile of a country in the midst of its financial takeoff, although highly conditioned by its international commercial relationships.

Brazil's economic recession may end up affecting all other Latin American countries, especially its closest neighbors: Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. The negative effects of this situation will be mostly felt on trade but they will also impact tourism, foreign direct investment (FDI), and fund flows, among others. However, according to BBVA Research, the general effect of Brazil's negative circumstances is not strong enough to bring a crisis situation to other countries in the region.

The company has gone from making 200 euros a week to revolutionizing tourism.

The French, British, Germans, Dutch and Russians are the biggest summer spenders in Spain, according to a study published today by the BBVA Innovation Centre in partnership with BBVA Data & Analytics.

BBVA Innovation Center, Vizzuality and CartoDB have put a face to tourism in Spain through an app that illustrates the data collected by BBVA Data & Analytics. 5.4 million anonymized transactions have provided the information required to create this interactive map.

Mobility is one of the hot topics for any major city. Up until now, mobility policies were based on a combination of, primarily, motor and overground public and private transportation. But this model is showing signs of wear in many cities. The main alternative has been subways and unground transportation systems. However, lately new trends in urban travel have emerged; they involve traditional means of transport now equipped with an engine, such as kick scooters and electric bikes. They reflect a change in how people move around in cities.

Inspired by automobile manufacturing processes, this new bike can be packed into just 30 liters, shaking up a sector that traditionally is not very innovative.