With an ambitious expansion plan valued at over 200 million dollars, the hotel chain Meliá Hotels International, in partnership with legendary Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal, announces the opening of seven new hotels in Argentina over the next five years. This strategic decision, celebrated by the international business community, reflects the renewed climate of confidence and legal security offered by the government of President Javier Milei.
The investment includes establishments in key tourist destinations such as Buenos Aires, El Calafate, Bariloche, Iguazú, Mendoza, Salta, Posadas, and Ushuaia, primarily targeting high-level international tourism. In the words of Víctor Donmez, Managing Director of Meliá for Latin America: "In 2024, 60% of tourists were foreigners. For this year, we project that number to grow to 70%, with an average occupancy of 65%."
The project also includes the arrival of ZEL, the exclusive hotel brand that Meliá manages in partnership with Rafael Nadal, which will have its fourth global establishment in Argentina, following its launches in Mallorca, Costa Brava, and Punta Cana.
The Patagonian jewel of this venture will be a new hotel in El Calafate, scheduled for late 2026, followed by another in Lago Gutiérrez, Bariloche, in 2027, and the impressive Gran Meliá in Ushuaia, whose construction is already underway. The personal presence of the group's global CEO, Gabriel Escarrer Jaume, in El Calafate in October 2024, and his speech at FITUR in Madrid 2025, where he praised the current Argentine environment for investment, confirm the seriousness of this venture.
With these openings, Meliá will reach a total of 12 operational hotels in the country, consolidating Argentina as a strategic hub in its global network of 362 hotels and more than 93,000 rooms, 64% of which are in the top-level segment.
