The Meliá Madrid Princesa Hotel has hosted the China-Europe Forum on reform and globalisation organised by China Daily, the China Institute for Reform and Development and ESADE in partnership with Meliá Hotels International.
Over recent decades China has experienced major growth and the European Union has moved towards greater integration. The 40th anniversary of the reform and opening of China therefore focused on exploring relationships between China and Europe through three panels focused on China-Europe relationships and Chinese reform and opening, Sino-Spanish strategic relations and shared prosperity, and China’s economic development and globalisation.
Among others, the panels included former Spanish president José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, as well as Spanish and international experts in economics and foreign relations as well as Chinese companies and institutions, all of whom had an opportunity to describe their vision and experiences. With corporate offices in China for more than 10 years, Meliá Hotels International also had the privilege to take part.
Meliá Hotels International currently has four hotels in operation in China in Jinan, Shanghai, Xi’an and Zhengzhou, and seven more hotels in the pipeline under three of its most prestigious brands: Gran Meliá, Meliá and INNSIDE by Meliá. The company aims to continue to increase its footprint in China through alliances with major industry leaders such as Greenland and partners in the Chinese travel industry such as C-trip, the biggest online travel agency in the country, Air China and China Eastern Airlines.
Meliá’s commitment to China has been built around respect and the integration of its brands and values with Chinese culture. An example of this is “Peng-You”, a programme through which hotels adapt to the needs of Chinese travellers and respond to their expectations in its hotels all around the world.
María Zarraluqui, Vice President of Hotel Development at Meliá Hotels International, took part in one of the panels and made the closing speech at the forum, stating that “we have always been driven by a desire to bring Spanish hospitality to new markets while at the same time being as open as we can possibly be to how we can be enriched by new markets and culture.”