Meliá Hotels International reported earnings of €61.8 million for the first half of 2018, up 7.2 per cent on the same period in 2017.

Company revenues are generated in dollars, in a large part of the business, and the depreciation of the dollar has had a significant impact on results, Meliá said.

In the first quarter, high season in the American travel market, the euro lost 15 per cent of its value against the dollar.

Excluding these exchange rate differences, total revenues remained relatively stable, showing a slight increase of 0.5 per cent, and EBITDA excluding capital gains improved by 7.4 per cent.

In constant currency terms, RevPAR increased by 4.6 per cent thanks to improvements in both occupancy and prices.

Gabriel Escarrer, chief executive of Meliá Hotels International: “The first half of 2018 was positive for the travel industry, although the international environment continues to present important challenges.

“Faced with these challenges, the strength and resilience of our hotel business allows us to present positive results for the first semester, especially in constant currency terms after excluding the impact of dollar/euro exchange rate changes which had a particularly strong impact in the first quarter (high season in the Americas).

“We can confirm a positive forecast for the third quarter, and it is particularly comforting to note that growth in our Mediterranean resorts has not been affected by the recovery of destinations in North Africa and Turkey, ensuring a sustainable growth model over the coming years.”

In line with brand strategy, Meliá continues to reposition hotels, and has now renovated and repositioned more than two thirds of its portfolio, investing more than €600 million with partners over the last six years in Spain, and generating extraordinary results in terms of positioning and profitability.