The general director of the Meliá Habana hotel in Cuba,Marino Elorza Burguera, died at the age of 56 in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, due to cancer.
Elorza died last Monday, July 11 after fighting the disease for the last few months.
The Spanish manager had an extensive career in thetourism sector, being featured in companies such as Silken Hotels and Breathless Resorts & Spas, in countries such as Spain, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
He arrived in Cuba in 1994, where he served as director of the Sol Río de Luna and Mares, Meliá Jardines del Rey and Meliá Habana hotels.
Francisco Camps, managing director of Meliá in the Dominican Republic and who worked for 32 years in Cuba in the tourism sector, dedicated an emotional message to his colleague, whom he described as a "great professional."
"We met in 1994 when I went to pick you up at the airport to join you as director of the Sol Rio de Luna y Mares hotel - Cuba. I remember you wanting to take on the world, with a great capacity for work, tireless and sometimes a little stubborn. Together We discovered the 'All Inclusive' product, we opened the Paradisus Rio de Oro - Cuba. You continued your career until you reached the Meliá Habana," he recalled.
Meliá is one of the international hotel chains with the greatest presence in Cuba. Until 2020, it managed 32 establishments with about 14,000 rooms, although in December it announced thatwill open two new hotels, one in Varadero and another in Sancti Spíritus.
Cubans in different countries have condemned the company's business on the Island, which they haveaccused of violating the rights of Cuban employees and financing the dictatorship.
The chain, which was established in Cuba in 1990, was among the most affected by the closure of borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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