ILUNION Hotels Recognizes the 25 Most Innovative Profiles in Spanish Tourism at TIS 2026
We now know the 25 Most Innovative Professionals in the Tourism Sector 2026
October 7, 2026
Within the framework of the Tourism Innovation Summit (TIS) in Seville, ILUNION Hotels and TecnoHotel presented the second edition of these awards, created to put names and faces to the people driving transformation in the tourism industry.
The sector now has new role models following the official unveiling of the list of the 25 Most Innovative Professionals in the Tourism Sector 2026, an established initiative that aims to give visibility to those who are driving change in the tourism industry.
This recognition moves away from acronyms and abstract projects to focus exclusively on people. Professionals from hospitality, technology, entrepreneurship, destinations, academia and tourism services who bring their ideas to life and achieve results with a demonstrable impact on the sector.
Three Special Distinctions
Among the award winners, the initiative wished to give special recognition to three individuals for their enormous impact and direct contribution to change within the industry:
- Cristina Elices Navarro, Commercial Director of Grupo Restoledo. She has demonstrated that innovation does not require large structures or million-euro budgets. She has successfully integrated artificial intelligence into the daily operations of a small tourism business, optimizing everything from internal processes and decision-making to customer service.
- Rafael de Jorge López, CEO and Founder of Growtur. He has designed a replicable method for bringing artificial intelligence to the tourism sector based on data, sustainability and training. This approach has already been successfully implemented in Turespaña’s secure environments and in destinations such as Lloret de Mar and Gran Canaria.
- Luis Miguel Martín Montes, CIO and Information Systems Director at Sercotel Hotel Group. He has promoted OpenStay Lab, an open innovation programme that has brought technological solutions from several startups into real pilot projects across nine company hotels.
In total, more than 150 applications from across the tourism value chain, ranging from major hotel groups and startups to universities and public administrations, took part in this second edition.
To select the winners, the jury, made up of leading figures in innovation and tourism, evaluated applications based on six key criteria: innovative mindset, leadership, execution capability, use of technology, connection with the ecosystem and, above all, the measurable impact of the projects.
Innovation with Purpose at ILUNION Hotels
True innovation is born when ideas move beyond theory and become useful realities. This same philosophy inspires #InnovACCIÓN, our internal framework for listening to real needs, testing solutions and applying them directly to the day-to-day operations of our hotels. This commitment earned us this year the Forbes and Kyndryl recognition for a culture of innovation with purpose..
Our participation in the Seville forum also included Carlos Bello, Director of Innovation, Technology and Transformation, who took part in a panel discussion on how to turn innovation into measurable business impact and move beyond simple experimentation.
All information about the awards initiative, jury members and competition rules is available on the 25 Most Innovative Professionals in the Tourism Sector website..
The 25 Most Innovative Professionals in the Tourism Sector
The jury for this edition was composed of leading figures from the tourism innovation ecosystem, including María Velasco (SEGITTUR), Silvia Avilés Giraud (Tourism Innovation Summit), Pilar Gorriz Ramón (Renfe), Álvaro Carrillo (Instituto Tecnológico Hotelero), Albert Pérez Llanos (Hospitalidad Emprendedora) and Yolanda Aguilar (Mesa del Turismo).
- Álvaro Arrieta – Professor, Researcher and Master’s Degree Director, CETT Barcelona School of Tourism, Hospitality and Gastronomy
- Raúl Blanco – Chief AI Officer, Neobookings
- David Cabeza – AI Growth Specialist and Hospitality Tech Architect, Grupo GastroPortal
- José Ramón Cuesta – President and Project Director, RastroSolidario ONGD
- Miguel Ángel del Pino – CEO and Co-founder, TECO Mobility
- Carlos Fluixá – Co-founder and CEO, ECO-ONE
- Concepción Foronda – Professor of Human Geography and Director of the Smart Tourism Chair, University of Seville
- Fede Fuster – President of HOSBEC and the HOSBEC Hotel Technology Institute
- Tomas Kancyper – CEO and Co-founder, Controlá
- Elizabeth Keegan – Manager, Lloret Turisme
- Xavier López – Co-founder and CEO, EISI SOFT
- Eduardo Martínez – CEO and Co-founder, tripResale
- Dolores Ordóñez – CEO and Founder, AnySolution
- Lydia Pérez – Chief Marketing Officer, CoolRooms Hotels
- Andrés Ramos – Head of Engineering and Maintenance, Bancal Hotel & Spa
- Javier Retornano – General Manager, Suitech
- Alejandro Rodríguez – Systems Director, Abadía Retuerta LeDomaine
- Elena Rodríguez – Founder and Director, Hotel Rural La Encantada
- Sofía Saiz – Director of Brand Experience, HATTON EVENTS & TRAVELS
- Mariano Torres – CEO of Sien Consulting and You Name It; President of Terciario Avanzado
- Edurne Vázquez – Chief Operating Officer, Hotelatelier
- Petya Yaneva – Co-founder and COO, DeepUpsell
