After a strong year of UK sales growth, Iberostar has said it is building on this with new hotel openings, major refurbishments, and increased investment in sustainability
Travel agents are also being encouraged to help communicate the value of its product.
The success of 2026 saw a 7% increase in global sales for Iberostar, with a higher growth of 10% in the UK.
Speaking at WTM, Finn Ackerman, Chief Commercial Officer at Iberostar, said, “Our plan is to keep growing, which is something we are seeing on the books.
“Reservations that we’re seeing for next year are doing well. We know that this isn’t the case everywhere else; we know we’re outperforming the market from the last few years.”
In terms of new plans, the hotel operator just opened ‘Iberostar Selection Zanzibar’, which has already seen 20% of its bookings coming from the UK, set only to increase with the addition of a direct flight from the UK in March with British Airways.
Aishling McLoughlin, Business Development Director UK & Ireland at Iberostar, said, “I’d highly recommend the destination – it’s very interesting, and there’s a buzz about it in the industry. It really has good feedback from agents.
“The hotel is fantastic. We’ve got a great location on the beach, fantastic facilities, and the all-inclusive is a highlight.
Iberostar have also announced an investment plan of one billion euros through 2028, heavily investing in new properties, as well as refurbishing existing ones, including Iberostar Waves Pinos Park in Majorca.
Aishling said, “It’s a wonderful spot in the northeast coast of Majorca. We’ve had it in the portfolio for many years now, but I still feel it’s a bit of a hidden gem.”
With company development comes the importance of preserving a destination’s natural and cultural environment, something Iberostar has made a priority.
Erika Harms, Global Sustainability Director at Iberostar, said how the company is integrating sustainability into its hotel developments, starting from employees, all the way up to the components of decarbonisation, water, circularity, and nature-based solutions.
“We invest heavily in protecting the ecosystems and restoring the ecosystem services. For example, in Jamaica, we have a coral reef just in front of our hotels, so we invest in that coral reef.
“We do so by working with the fishing communities to understand them and their fishing needs, giving them the capacity to go and fish outside of the coral reef, and we created a co-managed protected marine area with the fishermen and ourselves to re-establish it.”
She pointed out that many UK tour operators set their sustainability standards, and that Iberostar has not only met them, but exceeded them, and this makes them a more appealing option to both agents and customers.
“These are reasons that the customer may or may not choose to come to us, but would definitely feel better about.”
Erika said she hopes other businesses follow what Iberostar have been doing to integrate it into their own strategies.
