PALMA DE MALLORCA — Meliá Hotels International’s honorary chairman and founder, Gabriel Escarrer Juliá, has passed away at the age of 89.

The sad news was announced by MHI’s board of directors and its chairman and CEO, Gabriel Escarrer Jaume.

“A key representative of the pioneering generation of tourism, throughout his life he has been a great example of passion, tenacity and entrepreneurial vision, since he founded the company we know today as Meliá Hotels International in Majorca at the age of 21, which he would later promote throughout his life to the highest levels of the global hotel industry,” said a statement from the company.

Gabriel Escarrer Juliá presided over the company for more than six decades, until handing over the reins to his son Gabriel Escarrer Jaume in line with the succession plan approved by the family and the board of directors in 2016.

“In his extensive and brilliant career he received the highest awards granted by his country and his homeland, the Balearic Islands, such as the Doctorate Honoris Causa by the University of the Balearic Islands or the Gold Medal of the Community, as well as being recognised as a leading player by the international industry, In his later years, he was appointed Ambassador of the Spain brand and received the Kingdom of Spain Award for Business Excellence, as well as the Order of Merit of Duarte, Sanchez and Mella of the Dominican Republic and the Cuban Order of Solidarity, among many other merits he treasured as a global reference in tourism,” said the company.

In addition to his business achievements, Gabriel Escarrer was a man “with deep beliefs, who founded a large family, with six children and twenty grandchildren who today mourn his loss, and was loved and respected by the large group of employees – more than 40,000 today – who for decades have worked at Meliá around the world.

“Escarrer Juliá leaves us a great business and human legacy, due to the values he always instilled in his team, and as a pioneer in opening destinations as important as the Mexican Caribbean, Bali and Cuba, he anticipated the power of tourism to “bring countries together and promote the social and economic development of destinations,” being a forerunner of what we know today as ‘Responsible Tourism’.

“Therefore, today we would like to celebrate his life, and thank all our partners, owners, customers, suppliers, institutions, competitors in the industry and friends in general, for the affection and sincere condolences they have expressed to us, assuring them that we will continue to honour the legacy of our founder and watch over the present and future of what was the great work of his life, together with his family: Meliá Hotels International.”