Iberostar ends 2018 with 13 new hotels and will open 7 more in 2019

2018 has been a key year for the consolidation of the new positioning of Iberostar, a real giant step taken by the hotel chain. The Group billed 2,659 million euros in 2018, which represents a 9% growth over the previous year, and created 4,000 jobs. This growth is based on the good performance of the hotel division and the double-digit growth of the travel businesses.
Grupo Iberostar is moving forward tirelessly in its "Wave of Change" movement with outstanding achievements in its three pillars of action: elimination of plastics for single use, promotion of responsible consumption of fish and improvement of coastal health. The company thus becomes a benchmark for responsible tourism through an ambitiously sustainable management of its activity.

2019: international expansion continues
After the opening of 13 hotels in 2018, Iberostar will open another 7 in Spain (Mallorca and Madrid), Italy (Rome), Portugal (Lagos), Tunisia (Monastir and Sousse) and Turkey (Istanbul). The hotel chain incorporates 3 new destinations and adds 1,500 rooms to a portfolio that does not rule out more operations throughout the year. 2019 will also be a key year for the consolidation of ongoing projects in Los Cabos and Litibú (Mexico) and progress in other destinations such as Montenegro, Aruba, Albania and Cuba.
With quality and innovation as the main axes of its value proposition, Grupo Iberostar continues to be immersed in an ambitious project of repositioning and expanding its hotel portfolio. The company carries out an investment plan that has exceeded 500 million euros in recent years and will continue until 2022 through those already committed in Europe and America. Thanks to this important effort, all the hotels in the chain are 4 and 5 stars, and more than 70% have been recently transformed. To the products inaugurated in 2018, this year new projects are added that will make their already existing hotels evolve.

Innovation and digitalization
An important part of the investments made by the Group has been aimed at innovating in products and services and technological development focused on customer satisfaction.
During this 2019, the company will continue investing in the improvement and expansion of its service offering, developing innovative concepts linked to gastronomy, to the care of personal well-being, with the Fit & Fun program, to enrich its proposal of premium services in Star Prestige and to promote the entertainment of the little ones, with its new Star Camp proposal, which combines entertainment and values. The company also maintains a commitment to digitalization that optimizes the customer experience with tools such as My Room Online, which allows viewing 360º images to select the room at the time of booking, the mobile application, direct communication channel with the client or check in online.

Referent in responsible tourism: "wave of change"
The "Wave of Change" movement, launched in 2017 and whose objective is to actively contribute to the definition of a more responsible tourism model, advances in 2018 in its three fundamental pillars - the elimination of plastics for single use, the promotion of responsible consumption of fish and the improvement of coastal health- and new objectives are set for 2019:

Plastics for single use: Grupo Iberostar was in 2018
-The first hotel chain to eliminate all single use plastics in the rooms of its hotels in Spain, as well as in the corporate headquarters of the Group. With its elimination, Iberostar has stopped generating 300 tons of plastic per year and has eliminated the use of 11.7 million articles of single-use plastics, which have been replaced by other alternatives of natural or biodegradable materials. Additionally, the chain has installed in its rooms more than 50,000 postconsumer dispensers with BIO high quality cosmetics.
-Pioneer in replacing the traditional polyester of their uniforms with a 100% material made with recycled plastic. With the new uniforms, the company has favored the withdrawal of around 470,000 plastic bottles from oceans and landfills, in addition to stop consuming 28,000 meters of polyester traditional polyester.
-Impulsora of a compost plant in one of its hotels in Spain that generates fertilizer for its gardens.

n 2019, the company will have the advice of different NGOs to assess the risk, responsibility and sustainability of the available products. The objective is to offer in his letters articles that do not harm the evolution of the species, their life conditions or their durability. In addition, the chain will expand new horizons for the responsible consumption of local fish.

Coastal Health: In 2018, Grupo Iberostar

-He has started a research project on coral reefs and has built his first coral nursery in the Dominican Republic.

-He has created the Iberostar del Mar Chair together with the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) to promote marine ecology research.

In 2019, the company plans to build a second coral nursery in the Caribbean and start a mangrove restoration project in the Dominican Republic. In addition, Iberostar will promote an educational awareness program and grant 10 scholarships to promote the formation of new research teams.
In a complementary manner, the Group continues to carry out awareness-raising initiatives, including the organization of educational activities for the youngest clients through its Star Camp children's and youth entertainment program or the participation in cleanings of beaches and seabeds.