PADZZLE by Anna Domingo

Picture January 29th 2014 by Anna Domingo Let’s recall September 7th 2013.  That was the date Madrid lost its bid to host the Olympic Games for third time and all of citizens of Spain and, of course, Madrid felt sadness.  This was the third bid attempt by the Spanish capital for the games and somehow there was a misinterpretation and overdose of confidence towards the other candidacies.  Let’s face it, today the failed bid attempt is history and only Madrid sadly remembers why it happened.  Residents of Madrid as well as Spain hope the city can learn from the weaknesses and errors incurred during the Madrid’s Olympic committee bid presentation.  Nevertheless, the most talked about and and embarrassing misstep for Madrid’s citizens was committed during the mayor’s presentation.  Specifically, Mayor Ana Botella's speech left the entire audience dumbfounded, not only because her English was incomprehensible but also because the content was neith...

Qatar sounds like an exotic and wealthy destination, a country where everything is possible. What are your thoughts on this topic?  What has been your brand awareness exposure? Qatar is heading major development targeting international commitments like Fifa World Cup 2020 and bidding on the Olympic games. The country is working towards their National 2030 Goal - a National effort to position Qatar as a developed nation in front of the world. There are several major players providing Qatar an international uplift and modern image, including #Qatarairways, the national airline carrier.  Qatarairways is the most visible brand exposure for Qatar on global basis. Qatarairways major visibility is based in two strategic lines. The first strategic line is through major sponsorships such as the Barcelona soccer team,  #Barça. The Barça sponsorship brings, by brand association, the coolest upbeat and hip destination, #Barcelona, to Qatar while at the same time securing broad glo...

There is nothing more sour and sad than betrayal and dishonesty. At some point of our lives we sadly experience it from a friend, a work colleague, a boss or a relative but we can also experience it from a destination. I can certainly relate more than one case where a destination has been disappointing and a total failure!  , the good news is that now you can do something about it and the good news is that your voice can be heard through social media channels. Nevertheless, social media channels can manipulate the posts and bury your negative comments somewhere,  as Giles Crouch mentions on his latest post  , monitoring becomes harder and harder from government , institutions and companies about the negative digital WOM and its reputational and economic impact. IT is so easy to post a picture of a dirty place, it is so easy to videotape for few seconds an unpleasant experience of a restaurant, attraction, museum, city…destination. Raw information delivered from the ...

Breakfast at the #dusitThani Dubai , intense dejavu from 5 years ago:   breakfast at the 24 th floor, #DusitThani Dubai   thinking about a promising future ahead of a 2008 pre-crisis offer while zipping my coffee overlooking The Dubai Mall construction site which was being finished and the Burj Tower .  I was looking to the birth of a new destination that savvy has combined dream brand mix shopping + a unique of a kind attraction.   No more to say.   Today, late 2013 the Dubai Mall has over 65Mvisitors and it is expanding in preparation to welcome over 100 million annualvisitors to the mall. The destination will be completed with an opera theatre. My sincere congratulations to such vision and accomplished destination that has raised the bar for the shopping experience, attraction and lifestyle.  To the ones that we are building new destinations the bar has been raised and the inspirational challenge is embraced. Congratulations #theduba...

Mall of Qatar Shopping Center was announced on a press conference this week in #Doha,Qatar. It is certainly a big major project under construction that will boost #Qatar 2030 vision and certainly add value of experience to local residents and visitors. The regional mall is planned to open on 2015 and the concept, design and experience are breathtaking, from size to content. Certainly, I am proud of working and adding value being part of the initial launch. This is only the beginning of a successful and winning project, more to be announced during Cityscape Doha , hope to see you there at the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on May 27 th at 12.30pm.

Last Thursday March 14th , 2013 I was invited as speaker for the Women in Business Seminar which took place at  GILD first International Business Congress and Last Thursday at GILD International Business Club in Barcelona. It was an energetic and interesting day where we helped to provide technical and qualitative content to business women interested to do business internationally. My presentation was centered through my knowledge of international experience and cultural differences. I covered not only the importance how to approach different markets but also the basics tips for communication . You can also check the presentation cliking here .  Picture credits to sebastianszulfer.com For speaking opportunities please contact speaker@padzzle.com

Plaza Colon, Madrid , Spain, location of the main tourism office, where anyone visiting Madrid should pilgrimage right after arriving into the city, wouldn’t you? So did I and visited the center looking for a hip energetic, cutting edge space where all my questions will be answered about what to do or how to enjoy Madrid City. I arrived at the well located Plaza Colon, in the heart of the city easily connected by public transportation and cross road of the art mile and shopping mile in Madrid . A big totem with multimedia screens provides signage of the location…., expectation raises about the space. The space, is actually located underground, under the Castellana Avenue, main artery that runs north to South of the city. I head downstairs and find….the most empty, dull and scary space ever!! Only a security guard is there…looking at me as If I am lost, of course , I am confused and ask her about the information center. She points a dark glass closed area with two ladies behind thei...

"Honey!!! You must take the garbage out", didn't   I take it this morning ? Am I going loca and forgetting things. I checked the garbage and yes! Is full! And so is the plastic container, and OMG the paper, didn't we throw yesterday a full paper box filled with ...?. Ok.Something is wrong here. Once in front of the container bin I recall all neighbors diligently throwing their paper, glass, plastic, tetra, cans, organic compost and ....makes me wonder what is wrong. The garbage truck daily empties the bins and daily we fill them ..just one block of neighbors, how many are we in the block? Probably less than 80, and how many at home? The two of us and sometimes just one. How on earth is that possible?and yes,   Earth is what worries me when I see every day the trucks leaving ...., who knows where al, our garbage. Not being in a nostalgic mood but I clearly remember that my grandparents would empty their garbage every 2 days or so and...they were 3 in the househo...

Surprisingly, I opened the weekly email from Tripadvisor . I rarely open any promotional email but I do scan the subjects and topics ( professional curiosity) mainly because if it happens the magic impulse from me to open any means that the job is well done! The topic was  10 amazing places you must visit , wow! let,s check them! , wouldn't you? ....., I wanted to know at my 43 years if I am officially missing a lot or I have accomplished a lot. As I was scrolling the site I was : 1 - thinking Tripadvisor had accomplished its goal driving traffic to its website. Well done! 2- confirming my late tested theory about not following any guide or any tip...., crazy, huh? I have to admit that after over 20 years traveling on my own , the trips that I enjoyed the most had been the ones I did without any guide or tip, simply because the enjoyment of traveling resides in exploring and discovering ....letting oneself get lost and feel like a child. I think gu...

@lloretturisme The disruptive situations about #lloret – Chapter 2 Early morning on July 23 rd , around 4pm I woke up by the terrible smell of smoke….I was concerned because few hours before two major fires started about 120 km away. I went outside and no fire but I knew the smoke was coming from the northern fires. Sadly, the fires lasted for about a week regardless the amazing and tremendous efforts to extinguish it from the regional firemen. All the population hyper sensible about it…,the special investigation research was a machine that did not stop until the findings discovered a cigarette butt was the origin of the fire….how unconscious and illiterate must be the person that did it!!! . Literally a couple of days after the fire was finally extinguished I took a long walk thorught the Lloret de Mar Cami de ronda While I was walking I encountered a young woman who was smoking a cigarette -- so unlike me -- I kindly ask her to be careful and informed her...

@lloretturisme – Unexpectedly, I decided to spend 4 weeks at #Lloret de Mar last summer between July and August. The main reason behind it was purely family related and an excellent rental opportunity. I have been visiting  #Lloret on & off for the past 12 years and get to know and have local friends. #Lloret has been in our family memories as well on & off, from my mother’s sweet 16 years old memories during the 50s that include still the late fishermen lifestyle years at #Lloret, nowadays unexisting, to our current XXIst century Lloret experience ;What do we share?? , well the most breathtaking beach scenery and clear clean waters at Costa Brava , pure and brave , pure and wonderful. I had the chance to have the most interesting field site summer experience, which entitles me to have an opinion about Lloret as destination plus some community local insights. Only if you live it, you have the right! For the last decade #lloret has been struggling to get ride of “par...

Since GPS landed , maps have become virtually obsolete , being the ugly girl in the party, anyone use them? I am a nostalgic or deluded and I love them, or perhaps is the fact that I like to control and follow the line I want, turn them over to the map, or understand where I go, and distrust of the " little voice " . I never liked being told what I have to do , ever, and still the little voice gives me a feeling among disability and laziness, moreover I love deploy a map, follow the path with the finger , understand the latitude , location, or I have two radical options , follow my nose, or just get lost , that's wonderful , not following map either guide, most, not pre- determined to anything worse in case you need to get to a point , who said the shortest path is GPS ? I realized my love for maps when at the beginning of GPS era , one of them dropped me off   circling around...

During EIBTM , as panelist about a round table discussing how to measure ROI vs ROE (return on experience) a very interesting topic to follow up and dig into it. Do you want to know why?

This year i had the honour to be part of the panel dedicated to creativity & Tourism as well as part of the scientific committee for INTO 2011 The idea that creativeness goes hand in hand with innovation to stimulate success in business is not a new one. The World Tourism Organization designated 2009 as the European Year of Creativity and Innovation. The message it conveyed was that the nexus between creativity and innovation calls for intelligent investments that will be able to bring about new and sustainable solutions and benefits for economies(1) . This round table will be followed by a second panel debate entitled: "Creativity for transforming tourism destinations". This second panel debate, where practical cases that have revitalized and reinvented products and destinations will be related, will study how creativity in innovation improves positioning, and hence creativity. You can enjoy the video of the panel debate here

Reflexiones de como el poder de y clubs de fans de una marca , amortigua las experiencias negativas de sus usuarios y como la falta de auto-crítica de los seguidores de marcas puede convertirse en el freno de evolución de ésta. Aunque sabemos que Apple y Steve jobs no creen en los estudios de mercado, y eso es muy respetable , si estaría bien plantearse los niveles de satisfacción de sus "fans" , no sea que el motín a bordo se inicie , aunque de momento no parece que corra peligro Apple. Es bien cierto que queda una pregunta en el aire es sus últimas estrategias de producto, con el acercamiento de los Iphones al mundo corporativo , aquí podría ser un touché al "creativo" que presume /ía de consumir un producto "different".

I had the pleasure to join this conference last October 2010. You can check my lecture here . Thanks to all organizers for a wonderful time in Palma de Mallorca.

Muchas gracias a la organización del foro y a los asistentes el pasado mes de Junio en Zaragoza asì como el resto de ponentes con sus interesantísimas exposiciones , donde tuve el honor de participar hablando sobre " Como generar valor en tiempos de crisis, oportunidades viables y rentables" . Os dejo la entrevista que se publico en EL HERALDO , espero poder repetir visita a esta ciudad . Thanks to all organizer´s of foro and the audience last June at Zaragoza who attended as well as the other guest speakers where I had the pleasure to talk about : "How to create value on crisis enviroment and opportunities"

Uno de los momentos mágicos que me fascinan son las nevadas, no en su inicio, sino cuando empieza a cuajar la nieve y poco a poco irrumpe el frío manto blanco y nos cobija el silencio de los copos, entramos con sigilo en el universo de los susurros, sintonizamos el modo “silencio”, ya no circulan los coches, no se oyen sirenas y los copos caen mudos y blancos. Y mud@s y blanc@s se quedaron la mañana del 8 de Marzo l@a ciudadan@s de Barcelona y Gerona cuando a medía tarde deseaban llegar a sus casa , cuando a medía tarde querían comunicarse usando sus móviles generación 3G, cuando deseaban saber si el tren se movería norte o sur en algún instante, cuando deseaban conocer el parte meteorológico para las próximas horas, el estado de las carreteras y para cuando darían la luz , blanc@s estaban los recién llegados turistas a Lloret , y blanc@s siguieron sin poder broncearse, ducharse y calentarse al sol , o mejor a la estufa. Así , que el blanco siguió mudo y el copo , anónimo. Hubo muc...