More than 500 guests filled the Sala Fortuna for the ceremony in which the hotelier Pedro Turpault, the writer Manuel Alcantara and Gerardo Diaz, president of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations (CEOE) received awards for their professional careers.
The Costa del Sol Hoteliers Association (AEHCOS) celebrated its 30th anniversary on 22 November 2007, with a magnificent gala dinner and awards ceremony held at the Torrequebrada Hotel, in Benalmadena, which was attended by personalities from all walks of life who did not want to miss such an important event. Sergio Moreno, head of the regional government’s tourism and sports department, Ana Gomez, the department’s vice-director, and Javier Carnero, mayor of Benalmadena, were among the 500 guests. Antonio Diaz, director of the Costa del Sol Tourist Board, the heads of tourism of different town councils on the coast, businessmen and women and hotel directors from all over the province and a long list of tourist industry professionals from the public and private sectors attended the ceremony held at the Torrequebrada Hotel’s Sala Fortuna.
Before dinner, awards were given to the hotelier Pedro Turpault, the writer Manuel Alcantara and Gerardo Diaz, president of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations (CEOE) and vice-president of the Marsans Group, in recognition of their professional careers.
The veteran businessman Pedro Turpault, the “soul” of the Don Hotel chain, received his award from the mayor of Benalmadena. During his speech, Turpault said how “moved and grateful he was to receive such an important award”, which was even more so “having come from so many colleagues and friends.”
Manual Alcantara’s award was collected by Francisco Barrionuevo, executive president of the Manual Alcantara Foundation, and Teodoro Leon-Gross, the foundation’s vice-president, as well as a personal friend of the writer, Chair of Journalism at Malaga University and writer. Manual Alcantara’s absence was more than justified by the death of his wife Paula, two days before. In a short speech, Leon-Gross thanked everyone in the name of the writer and stated that “with the award, AEHCOS is one of the organisations that have recognised the significance of this writer and journalist’s work.”
Lorenzo Chacon Gutierrez, president of the Spanish Business Federation of Tourist Transport (ASINTRA) and member of the board of directors of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations (CEOE), collected Gerardo Diaz Ferran’s award, as he has a professional engagement elsewhere. In the opinion of Lorenzo Chacon, the three decades of AEHCOS has shown the “strength and maturity both of the Costa del Sol as a holiday destination and of the hoteliers that sustain the industry.”
He also affirmed that the CEOE not only insists on the importance of tourism for the Spanish economy, which is primordial, but also in the need for defending and improving the traditional “sun and beach” model.
After the awards ceremony, Javier Carnero, mayor of Benalmadena, gave a speech in which he reminded those present of the importance of hotels “as motor of change in the Costa del Sol’s tourist industry.” He also added that “AEHCOS has more than reached the objectives for which it was created” and invited everyone to “work together for the Costa del Sol’s future success.”
Likewise, Salvador Vilches, president of AEHCOS, reminisced about past recessions, sacrifices and efforts, as well as the successes. “It’s now, after several boom years,” he reminded the guests, “when one must be quick to adapt to the present market.”
Sergio Moreno, head of the regional department of tourism, finished the round of speeches by saying how honoured he felt to be accompanied by so many hoteliers. He also had words of praise for the Costa del Sol for being “the motor of Andalusia’s tourist industry” and stated that the regional government would continue to support the destination. “The industry’s future is promising, the indicators are optimistic, although there is still a lot of joint work to do,” he emphasised.
After the gala dinner, the guests were treated to a show organised by the Sala Fortuna.
