Nombramientos

📍 Viajes InterRías hires Alfonso de Ayguavives as commercial delegate in Catalonia and Aragon to enhance area presence and strengthen travel agency relationships. With over two decades of experience, Ayguavives has a notable background in tourism and commerce, including a 12-year tenure at a tech company and roles at Majomi, Crisol (Marsans), and Atenea.

✈ Iberia modifies Montevideo-Madrid route due to construction at South American airport, adding a refueling stop at Tenerife Sur. The detour is caused by weight limitations on an alternate runway, necessitating the stop before reaching Barajas. Departure times from Montevideo are adjusted to maintain Madrid connections, with the stopover in place until at least September 3.

✈️ Comandante José Flores retired from Iberia after 37 years, starting with Boeing 727 and ending with Airbus A350 for long-haul flights. His career was celebrated by air traffic controllers on X (formerly Twitter), where his daughter Ana, a flight attendant, and son-in-law Sergio, a pilot, plan to welcome him on future flights as a passenger.

🚣 TUI, the German travel giant, made a contentious decision to cancel all excursions to the Turkish-supported northern part of Cyprus, following instructions from the Cypriot government. This move, communicated via email, has sparked tension with Turkey, where TUI has significant tourism interests. The north of Cyprus, not recognized as a popular destination and lacking airports, relies on tourism traffic diverted from the south. Political leaders in northern Cyprus and Ankara have voiced their disapproval, but TUI has remained silent on the matter. The ongoing Cypriot conflict reflects the historical poor relations between Greece and Turkey.

📢 Juan Rossello is appointed as Civitatis' new Business Development Director for the United States and Central America, aiming to strengthen its presence in the key US market, where Spanish is the second most spoken language. Civitatis, emphasizing the US market's economic influence and growing Hispanic population, commits to high-quality travel experiences. Rossello's extensive experience is crucial for market development and meeting the rising demand for quality Spanish-language travel experiences. Civitatis' platform offers efficient booking, competitive pricing, and 24/7 multilingual support, leading to a 93% satisfaction rate among Hispanic agencies in 2023.

🏖 Playa Hotels & Resorts appointed Silvia Catena as the new Commercial Director for the UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, France, and Italy. Her role aims to boost company sales in these markets. Catena's background includes working with TripAdvisor in the UK and managing over 70 hotels in the Caribbean for Cara Hotel Marketing. Multilingual in Spanish, Italian, and English, she graduated in Foreign Languages from the University of Bologna. She will work closely with Lucy Abdul, the Commercial Manager for the UK and Ireland, focusing on sales performance, partner relationships, and product knowledge for Playa's properties.

🏦 World2Meet hires Gessika Da Silva as Business Development Manager for its bedbank area, aiming to strengthen its Brazil operations. Da Silva, with nearly 20 years of experience and a background at Restel, Globalia, Atout France, Flytour, and others, joins a company managing over 35,000 directly contracted hotels and a total inventory of more than 600,000 hotels globally. The addition of Da Silva is expected to contribute to W2M's growth and expansion.

🏡 A family office acquired the Room Mate Alba hotel in Madrid for €32.5 million. The 4-star property, inaugurated in 2019, has 80 double rooms, a breakfast bar, meeting room, and gym. Room Mate, owned by Angelo Gordon, will continue to manage the hotel, which is one of five they operate in the capital. Spain's hotel investment volume reached €1,550 million in the first half of the year, with expectations to surpass €4,200 million by year-end - a figure previously achieved in 2023. Cushman & Wakefield, the advising firm, also confirmed that Madrid remains a prime target for investors, with its hotel market regarded as a safe-haven investment.

🚀 Air Europa, a Spanish airline owned by the Hidalgo family, has faced tensions with the Venezuelan government after modifying their Madrid-Caracas route to avoid crew overnight stays in Caracas for safety concerns. Surprisingly, the airline amended operations to include a crew change in Gran Canaria, but recently reverted to direct flights. Madrid's Adolfo Suarez-Madrid Barajas Airport has reported no anomalies with scheduled flights. Currently, five airlines operate the Madrid-Caracas route: Iberia, Plus Ultra, Air Europa, Iberojet, and Hi Fly for Estelar and Láser.

✈ Juan José Hidalgo, owner of Air Europa, discusses the airline's future on Toro TV after a thwarted acquisition by Iberia, facing challenges without IAG support and significant pandemic debt. Despite connections, Hidalgo states no government support was received, not even from Franco, who died November 20, 1975, or subsequent Spanish governments. Hidalgo formerly worked as a driver for General Álvarez Arenas, later Army Minister under Franco.