Iniciativas Eco-responsables y RSE

📖 Riu Hotels & Resorts' Corporate Training Department, operational since 2019, increased training hours from 190,000 in 2023 to 260,000 in the previous year. With 38,000 employees across 98 hotels in 21 countries, the company focuses on imparting corporate culture through the "Esencia Riu" program. In Mexico, the PIT program reduced staff turnover by 50% by providing six weeks of paid dual training to young adults, leading to employment at Riu hotels. Additional initiatives include a mentorship program, online coaching, and sustainability strategies, aiming to centralize human experiences in hospitality.

🚿 In Madrid, a 2025 study by Instituto Tecnológico Hotelero (ITH) and Bioscore found 93% of Spanish hotels monitor water usage, and over 77% have daily water-saving measures. Yet, only 46% achieved consumption reduction goals. Investments in water reuse infrastructure and long-term sustainability strategies are needed. International chains outperform national ones, with 88% assessing water risks and setting quantifiable goals. Hotels face challenges like effectively reducing consumption and promoting circular economy practices to ensure future water availability.

🌎 World2Meet's climate strategy, aligned with the Science Based Targets initiative and the Paris Agreement, aims to limit global warming to 1.5°C. The company is committed to achieving net-zero emissions across its value chain by 2050. Short-term goals include reducing scope 1 and 2 emissions by at least 42% and fuel emissions by 16% compared to 2023, alongside a 25% reduction in scope 3 emissions from various factors. By 2050, the long-term goal is a 90% reduction in absolute scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions compared to 2023, with the remaining emissions neutralized by carbon removal projects.

🛢 Reducing waste in corporate dining facilities is crucial for sustainability and cost optimization. Companies with their own restaurants or catering services must enable proper waste treatment channels. Implementing waste minimization strategies, such as demand-adaptive inventory management, can be achieved using corporate restaurant POS systems like TCPOS. This not only ensures social responsibility and environmental stewardship but also improves profitability by avoiding excess inventory and managing expiration dates. Essential actions include optimizing food planning and purchasing, reducing single-use plastics, implementing efficient recycling systems, promoting reusable containers and utensils, and food waste management. Engaging employees in sustainability practices is also vital. A TPV software like TCPOS can help manage inventory and consumption patterns, further reducing waste and operational costs.

🐄 Michael O'Leary, director of Gigginstown House farm and Ryanair group, spoke at a cattle competition award ceremony in Croke Park, Ireland, on March 7. He advocated for expanding Ireland's cattle herd, highlighting the country's proficiency in producing grass-fed livestock. O'Leary criticized negative views on cattle breeding and methane concerns, emphasizing the need for continued valuable food production and opposing failed ecological policies. Additionally, he shared his farm's solar panel investment, costing €250,000 and generating €80,000 by reducing bills, while stressing the non-profitability for those calculating returns. O'Leary's farming background was credited for his work ethic and life skills.

🏖 SEPAD launches 'Programa de viajes 55 y más' for the second consecutive year, offering Extremadura residents aged 55+ access to 152 destinations, including 98 international and 54 Spanish locations, cruises, and islands. Agencies like Costas y Paisajes – Coria Tours, Viajes El Corte Inglés, and others are accredited. The program, aiming for active aging, had 920 participants last year. Benefits include reduced rates, 3-star hotels minimum, full board with excursions, and direct flights from Badajoz Airport for certain destinations.

👩 On International Women's Day 2025, themed "For all women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment," Belvera Partners finds only 15.6% of travel tech executives are women despite making up 54% of tourism workforce, according to UN Tourism data. Low-skilled, low-paid, often informal jobs are common among women in the industry, with fewer professional advancement opportunities. Entrepreneurial women receive only 2% of total investments, a small portion into women-led tourist companies. Stay22, a Montreal-based affiliate marketing platform, has a 100% male board of directors but women hold 55% of department director roles. Stay22 promotes gender equality with unlimited sick and personal days, flexible hybrid work, seasonal office closures, and support for organizations advancing female tech talent. Civitatis, a B2B2C travel service platform, values talent equally and HolidayPirates Group, with a 62% female workforce and gender-balanced board, advocates for representation in decision-making for a stronger connection to customers. Flexibility in jobs across departments has sustained female leadership within HolidayPirates. Bedsopia's Commercial Director highlights that women, often the family travel decision-makers, need representation in company leadership to understand market segments.

✈ Vueling showcased its digital aviation vision at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025, within the 4YFN event, demonstrating innovation with AI and VR. The airline manages over 223,000 flights yearly and introduced an AI-based virtual assistant available 24/7 on its website. The Digital Talent Flight, a hackathon with 180 EPITECH developers, took place on March 4th, creating offline translation solutions for flights, with La Joconde winning the challenge. Vueling is committed to reducing CO2 emissions by 20% by 2030 and achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

💼 Sonia Fleitas Rodríguez is the Executive President of SKA GROUP, a company transforming and repositioning hotels to elevate their value and service. She highlights the challenges of being a woman in the historically male-dominated tourism sector, advocating for equal recognition of talent regardless of gender. Rodriguez emphasizes the importance of diversity for business success and calls for breaking down invisible barriers that hinder women's professional growth. She notes improvements in corporate culture but stresses the need for continued progress toward genuine equality in the industry.

🏖️ In 2024, Spain hit record tourist arrivals and faces challenges like public space saturation and environmental impacts. San Sebastián capped guided tours at 25 people and fines for non-compliance range from 750 to 1,500 euros. Barcelona allocated 44 million euros over three years to manage "Espacios de Gran Afluencia". In Calvià, jet ski circuits were discarded for sustainability. Andalucía led Europe's vacation rental bookings in 2023 with over 35 million overnight stays. Spain's online vacation rental offerings surged 16% to nearly 400,000 properties, providing 1.99 million beds. Legal control of these rentals will be tested in 2025 with the EU's Digital Reporting Portal, applicable from May 20, 2026. Lastly, only Cataluña and Baleares apply tourist overnight stay taxes in Spain, and climate change impacts like droughts and floods are increasingly challenging tourism sustainability.