| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 30/04/01 |
| Author: | Page Number: 33 |
| Copyright: Other |
Gabriel Escarrer, chairman of Sol Melia
FROM the boom years of the 1950s to the present day, Gabriel Escarrer has been one of the most prominent figures in Spanish tourism and hotel development .
For many years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Tourism would joke that the Sol Meliá chain was one of the country’s finest ambassadors, because it operated hotels in countries where Spain had no diplomatic representatives.
Escarrer himself was Honorary Consul to Bolivia.
When he was 20, Escarrer moved to London to work at Thomas Cook. During his stay in the city, he noticed how easy it would be to get customers for hotels in Palma and set his mind on acquiring his first property – the first step on the path towards a business career that has lead to the creation of Sol Meliá, managing more than 220 hotels in 25 countries.
At 62 years old, Gabriel Escarrer is now chairman of the undisputed leader in the Spanish hotel industry.
The company is now the fourth largest hotel company in Europe, with over 50,000 hotel rooms around the world.