A coffee with: Antonio López de Ávila

To begin, I’d like to get to know the person behind the role. Who is Antonio López de Ávila, and what has your journey been like up to this point?

I studied Law, so nothing pointed towards a future in the tourism sector. Like many things in life, it happened by chance. I found out about a vacancy at the State Secretariat for Tourism, in the office of the then Secretary of State for Tourism and Trade, Juan Costa, and I was selected.

That’s when I realised that being from the Canary Islands was actually a strength: I’d grown up surrounded by the tourism industry and had internalised its dynamics without even noticing. In the Canaries, tourism often dominates the headlines, so I had a background I wasn’t even fully aware of.

After my time at the State Secretariat, IE University gave me the opportunity to return to academia. For eight years, I led the Executive Master’s in Tourism as well as various training programmes for the sector. This allowed me to gain first-hand insight into the needs of the private sector — coming, as I did, from the public side — and, of course, to carry out research. In fact, there are articles from 2008 in which we were already talking about tourism in the context of experiences. And by 2010, we began introducing the concept of smart destinations in tourism. This would later lead me, once I joined SEGITTUR, to develop the Smart Tourism model — a milestone that Spain has since led on the global stage.

What has this stage at ONU Tourism allowed you to achieve?

Through the Tourism for Rural Development programme, I’ve had the opportunity to visit remote communities — many of them indigenous — that see tourism as a chance to thrive: to create employment for young people, to curb rural depopulation, and to improve their economic outlook. It also acts as a lever for governments to invest in physical and digital infrastructure, because these villages — once forgotten — suddenly become tourism gems that reflect the true essence of a country.

Now, as Director of Innovation, Education and Investments (IEI), I’m in a privileged position that gives me a global perspective on the impact of tourism.

Our job is to support member states in developing effective policies to attract sustainable investment, update and modernise their tourism education curricula, and implement innovative strategies and digital transformation in their tourism sectors.

What makes this role so fulfilling is that we also work to identify talent through challenges we design with each country. They share their problems with us, and we launch calls for startups and scale-ups that can offer solutions. In this way, we actively foster both direct and indirect innovation.

How does ILUNION Hotels’ innovation model align with that of ONU Tourism?

We share many of the same values, but one in particular stands out: the social impact of innovation. In fact, we’re about to launch a global challenge focused on social innovation, and one of the key themes will be accessibility.

We firmly believe that everyone has the right to enjoy their holidays on equal terms. Tourism is a powerful tool for inclusion — in fact, it was one of the first sectors to employ women and young people at risk of social exclusion.

ILUNION Hotels integrates this approach clearly in its model. We also align in our shared commitment to environmental sustainability and to technology as an enabler of purposeful innovation.

Is that what the partnership you’re developing with ILUNION Hotels is about — purposeful innovation?

Exactly. We’re aiming to innovate with a clear purpose, focused on two very specific fronts: social capital and natural capital — restoring mangroves, regenerating desertified areas, restoring ecosystems, reducing and offsetting emissions, and more.We want tourism to stop being seen as an industry that harms the environment and instead be recognised as a driving force for its regeneration.

Is there data to back that up?

Yes. According to the data we work with, between 2018 and 2022, 2.2% of global venture capital was invested directly in tourism — specifically in TravelTech. And by 2033, investment in this space is expected to reach $127 billion, which clearly shows the scale of transformation in the sector.

As someone with years of experience in the industry, how do you view ILUNION Hotels?

I’ve known ILUNION Hotels since the very beginning, back when it was called Confortel, so I’ve witnessed its remarkable evolution — both strategically and in terms of product. It started as a hotel chain focused mainly on guests with accessibility needs, closely tied to ONCE’s social mission. Now it has grown into a purpose-driven organisation with a clear social impact — and a much more refined and competitive product. That’s why you’re receiving so much recognition for excellence. Today, ILUNION Hotels serves as a benchmark for many hotel companies around the world.

You often speak about the value of people. What role do teams play in your leadership style?

In everything I’ve been fortunate enough to achieve, people have been the common thread. I’ve always had the privilege of working with outstanding teams — from my early days at the Ministry to my time at IE University and later at SEGITTUR. None of our successes would have been possible without them.The same is true of my current team at UN Tourism — they are incredibly adaptable and forward-thinking individuals.

A leader alone is nothing if they don’t know how to surround themselves with the right people, manage them well, and bring out their full potential. Vision matters — but without a team that’s committed and aligned with that vision, you’ll never make progress. Talent needs to be attracted, nurtured, and empowered.