The emergence of new modalities of unregulated accommodation, the confusion that this generates between users and the different regulations of hotel regulation in each country have revealed more than ever the need to approve an ISO international standard for the hotel sector. And finally it has been the Spanish proposal, raised through the Institute for Spanish Tourism Quality (ICTE), which has been approved with the support of 35 countries. After ten years of negotiations in which it was impossible to reach an international consensus, majority support to the Spanish proposal will allow the implementation of the Committee that will develop a World Quality Standard specific to the hotel sector within the International Standardization Organization (ISO).
For Miguel Mirones, president of ICTE, this approval again proves Spain’s leadership in tourism quality, as well as the adaptation of the Spanish hotel sector to the new realities of the market. “That Spain has the possibility of leading this Committee will allow us to be at the forefront of the development of a standard that was initially not implemented, and we will do so taking into account the existence of national standards in different countries – Like the one that exists in Spain – will be a reference for the search of the international consensus “.
The presidency of the Committee, at the proposal of ICTE, will be in charge of Mar de Miguel, current manager of the Hotel Business Association of Madrid. ICTE itself will assume the Secretariat through its Technical Director, Mª Cruz Cádiz. The inauguration of both mandates will take place at the meeting to be held in Panama on 25 May. During the meeting, the project’s focus will be explained and the draft of the ISO Hotel Standards will be developed.