Mastercard has established a Tourism Innovation Hub in Spain, based in Madrid, with the support of the Spanish government, and it is slated to open in the second quarter of this year, according to a Thursday (Jan. 20) press release.
The hub “will develop solutions to support a sustainable and inclusive recovery for the global tourism sector through innovation, research and collaboration across the ecosystem,” the release stated. The effort was finalized between Spain Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism Reyes Maroto and Mastercard Europe President Mark Barnett at the FITUR International Tourism Fair.
Travel and tourism represented 10.4% of global gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 but dropped to 5.5% in 2020 in large part because of the ongoing spread of pandemic, with international visitors spending almost $1.7 trillion in 2019 and $517.6 billion in 2020, according to the release.
Still, Mastercard data shows that there are opportunities for a recovery in the travel sector in the near future, with travel ranking second to eating out as the most-missed activity during the pandemic, the release stated.
“There has been a multi-trillion-dollar impact on the global tourism industry over the past couple of years, but Mastercard is committed to enabling innovation and ensuring that technology is harnessed for a more inclusive, equitable and sustainable recovery,” Barnett said in the release. “The Tourism Innovation Hub will foster programs and build partnerships which will help the industry recover and drive more inclusive and sustainable tourism growth. Being located in Spain will allow us to leverage the expertise of a country intrinsically linked to tourism and the second-most visited destination in the world.”
This week, Mastercard also debuted its Mastercard Track Instant Pay, a virtual card solution for instant B2B payments. It’s designed to help customers avoid slower and more complicated payment methods, such as ACH. About 90% of virtual card transactions are still being processed manually.
Read more: Mastercard Unveils Instant B2B Payment Tool
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