Chairman of Melia awarded first UNWTO trophy for lifetime achievement

WORLD – The Chairman and Founder of Meliá Hotels International, Gabriel Escarrer Juliá, has be awarded the UNWTO Ulysses Award for Lifetime Achievement, in recognition of his devotion to the hospitality industry.
 
Escarrer as well as the Chairman of the China National Tourism Administration, Shao Qiwei, have been named as the first winners of this new category within the frame of the Ulysses Awards. The UNWTO aims to use the awards to value those individuals that have represented an excellence model and an inspiration.
 
“This award recognises Escarrer´s leadership and vision in promoting a responsible tourism sector,” Secretary General of the UNWTO, Taleb Rifai, said. “He established Meliá Hotels International in 1956 at the age of 21, a hotel chain which is today one of the largest in the World, sharing the benefits of tourism with his employees and society.”
 
Escarrer opened his first hotel in Mallorca in 1956, taking advantage of the boom in tourism in Spain in the 60s to create wealth and jobs. Almost 56 years later, the company he founded has managed to become the first Spanish hotel company to operate in key markets such as China, the Persian Gulf or the United States, while maintaining its clear leadership in Spain and Latin America.
 
Meliá Hotels International now has 350 hotels in 35 countries.
 
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