The contract of 604.8 million euros to manage the travel of the General State Administration faces a wave of appeals from the agencies, after Gebta, Nautalia, Sekai (Ávoris) CEAV, and UNAV-Fetave have challenged different points of the specifications, while the deadline to submit bids concludes on September 16.
The tender, driven by the General Directorate of Rationalization and Centralization of Contracting, contemplates an 18-month contract for the centralized provision of travel agency services to ministries and other public bodies. The estimated value of the file amounts to 604.8 million euros.
The three main organizations in the travel agency sector have filed appeals against the specifications and are now awaiting the decision of the Central Administrative Court of Contractual Appeals (TACRC) on the proposed measures.
Gebta, which groups together Viajes El Corte Inglés and Nautalia, among other companies, questions, among other aspects, the cost structure of the tender, certain services that it considers operationally impossible to fulfill, and several clauses that, in its opinion, could conflict with regulations on data protection, insurance, and the IATA regulations.
For its part, UNAV-Fetave directs its challenge mainly at the business qualification necessary to operate as a travel agency and demands that the specifications expressly detail the sectoral requirements that must be met.
The employers' association also objects to the obligation that at least 40% of the personnel assigned to the contract be women, considering that the composition of the workforce must be sufficiently justified and respect the principles of proportionality and freedom of business organization.
In addition, UNAV-Fetave emphasizes the economic configuration of the competition and argues that the unit prices set by the Administration must be duly justified in relation to the actual costs that the agencies must assume to provide the service.
The contract requires a certain structure of personnel, technological means, insurance, continuous attention, and management systems, while a significant part of the scoring rewards the reduction of management fees and the increase of certain discounts.
The cascade of resources comes after the previous tender, of 340 million euros, was ultimately deserted, following the appeal from Gebta, IAG7 Viajes, and Nautalia.
The new procedure increases the amount by 77% compared to the previous tender and is divided into five lots. Companies have until September 16 at 14:00 hours to submit their proposals.
The resolution of the appeals by the TACRC will now be key to determining whether the procedure maintains the planned schedule or if the suspension of the process is agreed upon.