Courtesy/News Source: hospitalitynet.org

Meliá Hotels International and Audi are working together to promote the benefits of sustainable mobility and to allow some company hotels in Mallorca to offer guests a chance to enjoy driving the new 100% electric Audi e-tron.

Meliá was recently named the most sustainable hotel company in the world in the latest Corporate Sustainability Assessment made by SAM, the most prestigious international agency responsible for the evaluation of corporate sustainability performance. The company has chosen Mallorca for the project due to the fact that the environmental wealth of the island requires innovative solutions to enhance its future sustainability. As tourism is the most important industry on an island in which the company also has its headquarters, Meliá believes that, among other things, companies working in the travel industry should be at the forefront of efforts to boost the development of eco-mobility and help reduce CO2 emissions.

As a result of the partnership with Audi, several hotels in Mallorca have launched an activity to raise awareness among guests by allowing them access to the new Audi e-tron, a state-of-the-art electric vehicle with an innovative charging system that generates maximum power along with unprecedented connectivity and a choice of superior quality materials and finishes.

Gabriel Escarrer, Vice President and CEO of Meliá Hotels International, presented the agreement with Audi yesterday in Palma, saying that "we are very happy to be able to partner with brands as important as Audi to help raise awareness about sustainability. The future health of the island ecosystem depends on our behaviour today, and sustainable mobility is one of the great advances that we need to be promoting within the tourism industry."

José Miguel Aparicio, Managing Director of Audi Spain, stated that "at Audi we are fully committed to sustainable mobility solutions. Mallorca is an ideal place to launch an initiative in which we present the huge benefits of our electro-mobility solutions, and we are very pleased to launch this project with such a prestigious partner as Melia Hotels".

Meliá also announced its intention to install new charging points for electric vehicles in a number of its Spanish hotels, aiming to create a network of vehicle-charging infrastructure to make it easier for guests to use sustainable transportation.

This is yet another demonstration of the progress the company is making with its environmental strategy. The Meliá Hotels International energy management system is certified under ISO 50001 standards and 100% of the electricity consumed by the company in Spain currently comes from 100% certified renewable sources. The company's goal is to reach 70% worldwide by 2020.?