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The hotel group hit a billion dollars in revenue in 2021, narrowed its losses and predicts a "historic year for resort tourism" in 2022 — but the caveat for the future is how Russia's invasion of Ukraine will affect its business.
A gradual reopening of international tourism helped Spain’s Melia Hotels reduce its net annual loss by 68 percent in 2021, the company said on Monday, as it forecast the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic would continue to gather steam this year.
The Mallorca-based group’s net loss narrowed to $216.4 million in 2021 from $668.8 million a year earlier, it said, while revenue jumped 71 percent to $1 billion.
“Our 2021 results show clear signs of recovery in the industry, with a very significant increase in our revenues quarter after quarter despite the impact of Omicron in December,” CEO Gabriel Escarrer said in a statement.
Bookings for this summer already exceed 2019 levels and are at higher average prices, the company said, adding that it expected 2022 to be a “historic year for resort tourism”.
Melia said it was premature to give a definitive assessment of how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would affect its business but said any impact was likely to be limited and would not overshadow the expected recovery from the pandemic.
(Reporting by Nathan Allen; Editing by Jan Harvey)
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Tags: coronavirus, covid-19, melia hotels, russia, spain, tourism
Photo credit: Melia's net loss narrowed to $216.4 million in 2021, from $668.8 million a year earlier. Melia Granada