MADRID, Spain. – Meliá, the Spanish hotel chain, named Gonzalo Echevarría as its new executive director in Cuba.
According to information released this Monday in the specialized journal Hosteltur, Echevarría joined the hotel chain in 1988.
He has headed hotels such as Beach House, Sol Wave House and Meliá Palas Atenea of Palma; at the latter for the last eleven years.
According to the Hosteltur release, the hotel chain stated that “the team headed by Gabriel Cánaves (responsible for the division) is gaining strengths with the incorporation of Echevarría, who will bring to the table his extensive knowledge of hotel management and business marketing.”
When introducing the new executive, the hotel chain indicated that it was essential for the company “to strengthen its portfolio, to advance digitalization and to promote a safe and sustainable tourism.”
Meliá has had a presence in the island for two decades. It has 40 hotels in the following locations: Cayo Coco, Cayo Guillermo, Cayo Largo, Cayo Santa María, Holguín, Havana, Santiago de Cuba, Varadero, Camagüey, Trinidad and Cienfuegos.
Last January 25, the European-Cuban Council and the group Cubans for Democracy sent a letter to the hotel chain wherein they criticized Meliá’s businesses in Cuba, and demanded the hotel chain end its relationship with the Cuban dictatorship, alleging that “in implementing its international expansion in the Caribbean, Meliá has opted to associate its brand and prestige to the disrepute of the Cuban government, a criminal Mafioso entity.”
It was learnt in December 2021 that Meliá and Iberostar could have been collaborating with the financing of the luxurious Fidel Castro Center, inaugurated in Havana amidst the serious economic and health crisis the country is enduring.
Recibe la información de CubaNet en tu celular a través de WhatsApp. Envíanos un mensaje con la palabra “CUBA” al teléfono +1 (786) 316-2072, también puedes suscribirte a nuestro boletín electrónico dando click aquí.
