Meliá Hotels International, managing company of the Palma Congress Center and its hotel - recently named the “most sustainable hotel chain in the world” - presented its commitment to responsible tourism and the 2030 Agenda at Fitur (Madrid), which is fully integrated in its management model.
Gabriel Escarrer, Vicechairman & CEO of Meliá Hotels International (and also Chairman of Exceltur, the alliance of Spanish tourism companies) has become a leading pioneer and driver of sustainable tourism, and highlighted 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 to a positive impact by drastically reducing emissions and offsetting those that cannot be reduced.
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.
For Meliá Hotels International, the Palma Congress Center should serve as a platform to boost the socio-economic development of the city, to create value for its community and to encourage innovation and sustainability of the tourism sector.
TaPalma is the tapas & cocktails route in Palma, and this year it will be held from November 25 to 29. In addition, on November 23, two days before the gastronomic route, TaPalma will celebrate the tapas contest at the Palau de Congressos de Palma, for the third year.
Bureau Veritas, a market leader in inspection, certification and testing, has completed the certification of the Meliá Hotels International “Stay Safe with Meliá” programme of preventative measures to combat COVID-19 and has also confirmed a level of compliance of 100% in company hotels.
The spread of the Covid-19 pandemic and the need to reduce the pressure on the public health system in the Balearic Islands led to the Meliá Palma Bay Hotel and Palma Convention Centre being converted into hospitals in late March under the management of the Son Llàtzer University Hospital.