At FITUR, the CEO and Vice Chairman of Meliá Hotels International, Gabriel Escarrer, signed an agreement for what will become the third hotel for the company in the UK: the Innside Manchester Hotel.

Construction will begin in the second half of the year in the new First Street North development, a major tourism development project for the City of Manchester creating a multi-purpose cultural space which is expected to attract over one million visitors a year.

The Innside Manchester Hotel will be a modern 4 star hotel with 208 rooms overlooking a cultural centre with two theatres, five movie theatres, art galleries, restaurants and a new venue for outdoor performances. In the words of Gabriel Escarrer, "the new cultural outlook for Manchester is an ideal framework for the growth of Innside by Meliá, a brand which originated in Germany and which enjoys a fantastic reputation amongst our customers and which we aim to bring to new cities in Europe". The leader of the local government, Sir Richard Leese, thanked "the participation of a company of the size of Meliá Hotels International in this project, adding a vote of confidence to the potential of our new vision for Manchester".

The deal confirms the interest of Meliá Hotels International in the UK, one of the most important markets for the company, and one in which it also aims to grow its customer base. In summer, the hotel company will open in the heart of London one of its biggest projects for 2012: the ME London Hotel, which hopes to benefit from the appeal of the Olympics to position itself among the finest luxury hotels in the city.

Growth plans

At FITUR, the CEO of Meliá Hotels International, Gabriel Escarrer, also presented growth plans for the company which will focus on China and Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and major European capital cities. This growth will be achieved mainly through management, lease and franchise agreements for its upscale and premium brands in order to strengthen the company's international presence with a portfolio of superior quality hotels.

The new products include the newly opened Paradisus Playa del Carmen, a luxury resort consisting of two hotels in Riviera Maya in Mexico, as well as the future Gran Meliá Rome, Meliá Dubai and ME London, and the launch of Calvia Beach Resort by Sol Hotels, a major project to regenerate tourism in Calvia in Mallorca, Spain.