Ávoris, the tour and travel division of the Barceló Group, is moving to establish a more global footprint by taking its Special Tours wholesale operation to the United States by opening an office in Miami. Founded in Palma de Majorca, Spain, more than 75 years ago by Simón Barceló, the Barceló Group has more than 230 hotels and more than 700 travel agencies in four countries. The tour operator division designs holiday packages for sales through the travel agencies and the Group’s own network, B the travel brand.
From its Miami office, which is headed up by María Jesús Lope Alonso, Special Tours will create a customized program of circuits and great trips directed to a Latin American clientele. Lope Alonzo previously served as vice president of Travelplan (Globalia) for the region.
Regarding its Latin America venture, a statement from the Barceló Group emphasized the point that “2017 is a key year for the consolidation of Ávoris as a model of innovation and a benchmark for a major global tour operator.” And as reported by the Mexican online news service, REPORTUR.mx, the company has reinforced its structure by reassigning top executives to Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Peru and Brazil.
The company seeks to strengthen the presence of the Special Tours brand by taking advantage of the synergies with other brands of the group such as Catai, the airline Evelop or its receptive Turavia ( Barceló will launch a receptive operation in Cancun that will be called Turavia ). In addition, Ávoris is studying further steps to grow the tour operator and travel agency segment in Argentina, Mexico, Italy, Portugal and Colombia.
And in a not entirely related action, Ávoris has opened an office in Shanghai and appointed Miguel Eaktai Ahn as regional director for Asia, former Hotelbeds head for East Asia, who was part of the group led by Joan Vila since 2006 and was also with the firm Garriges, in Mallorca. (Hotelbeds, coincidentally, is headquartered in Palma de Mallorca, not that far from the headquarters of Barceló.)
According to a company statement, Asia and North America are the two markets that are a key part of the Ávoris expansion plan, and “cornerstone” of the Barceló Group’s strategic plan, after consolidating its presence in Portugal and Latin America.
