Gabriel Escarrer Jaume, Meliá Hotels International CEO, with Álvaro Rodríguez, expert from The Climate Project — Photo by Meliá Hotels International
Source: Meliá Hotels International
  • Recently named the "Most Sustainable Hotel Company in the World", the company celebrates the 40th edition of FITUR in Madrid presenting its commitment to the 2030 Agenda
  • The company stand focuses on the luxury Paradisus by Meliá brand as it presents its new brand positioning focused on sustainability
  • Gabriel Escarrer also announces new hotel openings in 18 countries for 2020

This year, at the 40th edition of FITUR, Meliá Hotels International will be focusing on sustainability and the presentation of the new image for its Paradisus brand.

As on previous occasions, the Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, Gabriel Escarrer, presented a summary of the company's current status with a heavy focus on responsible tourism and its commitment to make progress towards the goals of the 2030 Agenda. The presentation also included a talk with the sustainability expert Álvaro Rodríguez, the coordinator in Spain of The Climate Reality Project, the climate change initiative supported by Nobel prize-winner Al Gore. Both men highlighted the risks of climate change, particularly for the tourism industry, and also analysed industry responses that might minimise its environmental impact and generate a global net positive impact.

Gabriel Escarrer has become a leading pioneer and driver of sustainable tourism, and agreed with Álvaro Rodriguez on the urgency for the industry to act in two different areas, to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change through contingency plans and to work on converting the negative impact (mainly caused by CO2 emissions) to a positive impact by drastically reducing emissions and offsetting those that cannot be reduced.

Rodriguez expressed his gratitude for having the opportunity to speak before such an important audience of industry representatives and insisted that "given the genuine climate emergency we face, it is essential that an industry such as tourism leverages its major impact and capacity to raise awareness and sets an example by aligning itself with the objectives of the COP. We have to overcome a partial view and assume that when it comes to matters that affect the climate, we are all part of the problem and we must all be part of the solution."

​In 2019, Meliá Hotels International was named the Most Sustainable Hotel Company in the World in the Corporate Sustainability Advisory carried out by the agency SAM. As Escarrer pointed out, "among other things, this achievement is due to our progress in reducing emissions, our commitment to a circular hotel model, the extension of our ethical commitments to our suppliers, investment in employee training and development and the strengthening of our bonds with academia". The hotel company also used FITUR to announce its "Decalogue for the Responsible Traveller" which it aims to use to raise awareness and involve the public in making sure tourism achieves a positive impact.

Resilience and trust

Gabriel Escarrer also provided greater detail on company strengths, particularly the significant resilience to market pressures in the Americas and the Canary Islands in 2019, expressing his optimism with regard to the stabilisation and change in market trends in both areas. Escarrer also highlighted the strong performance of city hotels and the EMEA region in 2019.

Another key aspect for the company is its digital leadership and the creation of a solid distribution model which is a fundamental factor in improving its business performance. Direct sales channels now generate 33% of company sales, with particularly strong growth over the last year in the MeliáPro.com B2B channel and the company Contact Centre, with sales increases of 18% and 11%, respectively. Transactions carried out on mobile devices also continue to boom, with the Meliá App growing by 175% and traffic to melia.com from mobile devices now standing at 70% of all visits.

As Escarrer emphasised, Meliá is also strategically focused on its internal digital transformation, leveraging the most innovative disruptive technologies to enhance its managerial excellence. At FITUR he also announced a robotisation project together with the world-leading partner Uipath which will allow the automation of back-office processes and, as Escarrer himself explained, "allow people to focus more on things that create differential value for customers".

2020 openings

Internationalisation was another aspect highlighted by Escarrer as he announced the opening of 23 hotels in 2020 (12 in Europe, 9 in Asia Pacific and 2 in America), further developing company diversification, particularly in resort and bleisure hotels and in its upscale and premium brands. Escarrer made a special mention of the INNSiDE by Meliá brand, which will open for the first time in cities such as Amsterdam, Lisbon, Liverpool or Kuala Lumpur, and the growth of the Gran Meliá luxury brand in Asia Pacific, where it will open three new hotels in China and Vietnam. Asia Pacific remains a focus for company growth (with 32% of the hotels pending opening), and Meliá Hotels International now has 51 hotels in the region (in operation and in the process of opening), compared to 30 in 2015.

Other iconic openings scheduled this year include the ME Dubai, an extraordinary hotel designed by Zaha Hadid, and Paradisus Playa Mujeres in Mexico, a hotel which represents the new generation of luxury all-inclusive Paradisus by Meliá hotels whose links to nature and local culture in each destination are the inspiration this year behind the design of the FITUR stand.

About Melia Hotels International

Founded in 1956 in Palma de Mallorca (Spain), Meliá Hotels International has more than 400 hotels open or in the process of opening in more than 40 countries, and a portfolio of nine brands: Gran Meliá Hotels & Resorts, ME by Meliá, The Meliá Collection, Paradisus by Meliá, Meliá Hotels & Resorts, ZEL, INNSiDE by Meliá, Sol by Meliá and Affiliated by Meliá. The Company is one of the world's leading hotel chains in the leisure segment and its experience in this area has allowed it to consolidate itself in the growing market of urban hotels inspired by leisure. Its commitment to responsible tourism has led it to be recognised as the most sustainable European hotel company according to S&P Global's Sustainability Yearbook 2024, as well as being a "Top Employer 2024" brand in Spain, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Italy, Germany, France and Vietnam. Meliá Hotels International is also part of the IBEX 35. For more information, please visit www.meliahotelsinternational.com