After a two-year interruption caused by the pandemic, the meetings and events industry is beginning to show signs of recovery all around the world, and now faces a new stage in its development influenced by the trends and lessons learned after Covid-19. In this context, Melia Hotels International is redefining its value proposition for the MICE segment with a priority objective in mind: to be a strategic partner and facilitator of more sustainable events, a fundamental feature that will be at the forefront of the future development of the industry.

To help achieve this, the company announced at IMEX Frankfurt (the international trade fair for the MICE industry) a pioneering initiative that will allow the carbon footprint of events in its hotels to be measured, reduced and offset. This is a fundamental step in moving towards carbon neutrality, responding to a need that is increasingly in demand among professionals in the MICE industry.

The IMEX event has further confirmed that sustainability continued to gain ground during the pandemic and has now become a priority for event organisers. As explained by Jose Miguel Moreno, VP Corporate & MICE Sales Strategy at Melia Hotels International, 'our objective is to involve our clients in combatting climate change so that we can move forward together in the decarbonisation of events, so we're really proud to take our first steps towards promoting the sustainable transformation of the MICE industry'.

Thanks to a strategic partnership with Creast, a technology company specialising in measuring, reducing and offsetting the environmental impact of events, Melia will provide MICE clients with a tool that allows the rigorous and traceable calculation of the amount of CO2 generated by each event, taking into account transportation, energy and water use, materials used and waste generated, catering and accommodation services.

These measurements are also vital for detecting opportunities to reduce the carbon footprint and define ambitious and achievable goals. The measurements will also help create an important knowledge base to help define the future structure of more sustainable events and meetings in Melia hotels, at the same time supporting the company's global objectives to reduce emissions.

In this respect, Melia will offset the emissions generated by events in its hotels to support its move towards carbon neutrality. As part of the process, a number of verified environmental projects will be selected to be supported by compensation certificates which will be issued for each hotel event.

The project has been piloted at the Palma Convention Centre and its Melia Palma Bay Hotel, one of the company's top facilities in regard to sustainability. A European pilot project will begin soon at the Melia Barcelona Sarria and Melia Berlin, in which the learning process will be used as the basis for exporting the model to a greater number of MICE hotels throughout the year.?

About Melia Hotels International

Founded in 1956 in Mallorca (Spain), Melia Hotels International operates more than 390 hotels (portfolio and pipeline) throughout more than 40 countries, with brands including Gran Melia Hotels & Resorts, Paradisus by Melia, ME by Melia, Melia Hotels & Resorts, INNSiDE by Melia, Sol by Melia and TRYP by Wyndham. The Company is the global leader in resort hotels, while also leveraging its experience to consolidate the growing segment of the leisure-inspired urban market. Its commitment to responsible tourism has led the Group to become the third most sustainable hotel company in the world in 2018, according to RobecoSam, the investment company to produce the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Melia Hotels International is also included in the IBEX 35 Spanish stock market index and it is the Spanish hotel leader in Corporate Reputation (Merco Ranking). Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Instagram meliahotelsinternational.com

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