Gabriele Burgio (Florence, 1954) graduated in law in Florence, specialising in International Private Law. In 1982 he completed his MBA at Insead in Fontainebleau.

In 1993 CIR Group appointed him CEO in its subsidiary Cofir, a successful holding company listed on the Spanish stock exchange and operating in Spain and Portugal with a philosophy similar to that of a private equity fund. Gabriele Burgio moved to Spain.

From 1997 to 2011 he served as CEO of NH Hotels, initially a small local Spanish company specialising in 3- and 4-star hotels in Spain. Under his leadership, NH Hotels grew rapidly, expanding into 25 countries and increasing the number of hotels from the original 66 to 401, multiplying turnover by 13.

Since May 2012 Gabriele Burgio has been President and CEO of Alpitour World.

Under his chairmanship, the Group began a path of renewal and reorganisation that led in 2014 to the acquisition of Press Tours, in 2016 of Swan Tour and in 2018 of Eden Viaggi, the second largest tour operator in Italy. Growth through acquisitions was accompanied by organic growth of the Group, leading the company to reach €2 billion in sales in 2019, its all-time record.

During the pandemic, which affected the tourism sector more than any other, Gabriele Burgio led a profound and articulated path of reorganisation and optimisation of the Group, with a specific focus on the Tour Operating Division, through the TREVOLUTION and Innova projects. In addition to this, there was the expansion of the Neos air fleet to 15 latest-generation aircraft, and the expansion of the hotel collections of VOIhotels and VRetreats, with a total of 22 facilities.

In 2002 he won the Tiepolo Award and in 2003 the ‘Manager of the Year in Spain’ award. In 2007, His Royal Highness Felipe II awarded Gabriele the ‘Excellence in Tourism’ prize. In 2010, the Italian government awarded Gabriele Burgio the title of ‘Grand Officer of the Star’.