Iberostar is moving into the next phase of its calendar, kicking off the tourist season with the staggered opening of 45 hotels in nine countries around the world this summer.
Starting with the Iberostar Cristina (Majorca) in June, the easing of restrictions allowed the chain to welcome its first local and international guests. With this experience, Iberostar also put into practice new hygiene and safety measures and protocols, which have been developed in partnership with a medical advisory board. Following this first reopening, Iberostar is gradually resuming operations at the rest of its hotels in Europe and other international destinations. In Europe and the Mediterranean, the company is now operating in Montenegro and Tunisia, as well as Spain (Majorca and Andalusia). In the Americas, it has opened four hotels: in Cancún, Riviera Maya and Riviera Nayarit (Mexico) and one in Jamaica.
Over the summer months, Iberostar plans to open approximately 45 other hotels in destinations where it already operates, such as the Balearics, Canary Islands, Majorca, Montenegro and Tunisia. Europe, North Africa, Greece, Portugal and Morocco will also re-open. Guests will once again be able to enjoy the safe surroundings offered by Iberostar hotels, including Iberostar Selection Paraíso Maya, Iberostar Selection Playa Mita, Coral Level at Iberostar Selection Cancún in Mexico, and Iberostar Selection Rose Hall Suites in Jamaica.
The hotel chain is eager to implement the ambitious calendar planned for the coming months and hopes to increase the number of hotels operating as borders reopen, demand picks up once more and flight connections resume. Iberostar has carefully considered the health guidelines and rules of each country in which it operates and is in constant contact with key partners in each destination to reactivate markets and destinations according to the course of the pandemic. In the meantime, Iberostar is working hard to prepare its hotels, incorporating circular waste management in the refurbishment process of its hotels.
Wave of Change news
In line with its commitment to sustainability and following the objectives set within the Wave of Change movement, Iberostar Group has accelerated its coral restoration program in two locations in the Mexican Caribbean. The company has taken advantage of the reopening of its Paraíso Complex in Riviera Maya to inaugurate its second coral nursery worldwide and thus continue its ambitious goal that all the ecosystems that surround its properties around the world improve in coastal health. The chain collaborates with CINVESTAV in the Riviera Maya, hoping to prepare the region’s reefs for the damage expected due to disease, nutrient contamination and climate change.
Additionally, Iberostar advances in compliance with its environmental and social standards, achieving EarthCheck Silver certification for all its hotels in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica and Brazil.
This achievement, which includes 23 of its hotels in the Americas, reinforces the path taken by the company to continue working for more responsible tourism. To achieve this certification, each hotel has gone through an exhaustive external verification process to accredit its sustainable practices in key areas such as: social commitment, resource management, greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency, waste management and others, which reinforce the continuous improvement and path taken towards the responsible tourism model.
Health security measures in the new scenario
Working closely with a medical advisory board consisting of renowned experts in public health, health security, virology and epidemiology, the Majorcan company has designed more than 300 sanitary safety measures grouped under the four principles of How We Care: safe environment, hygiene standards, innovative experience and social spaces. All of these have been designed while maintaining the company’s commitment to the circular economy policy driven by the Wave of Change movement, aimed at protecting the environment and our oceans. The fundamental objective of these measures is to innovate in the field of health and safety to build long-term resilience while offering an excellent experience.
As it resumes operations, Iberostar Group is using the experience and lessons learned from Covid-19 as an opportunity to rebuild a more responsible, sustainable tourism sector. The Majorcan company works with institutions such as the World Tourism Organization, the World Economic Forum and One Planet, and is the leading Spanish tourism company involved in this process.
