Spanish hotel chain Meliá is studying the sale of some assets in the Caribbean to reduce its debt by between 120 and 200 million euros ($127-212 million), its chief executive, Gabriel Escarrer Jaume, said Tuesday.

"At this time we are not in a position to provide a specific location for the disposal of assets," he said at a press conference to present 2022 results.

The Mallorca-based group returned to profit in 2022 after two years of losses thanks to a resumption of world travel and higher room rates.

It reduced its net debt by about €76 million last year to €1.21 billion, the CEO said.

Meliá expects its Southeast Asian operations to benefit strongly from pent-up demand from Chinese tourists, who will be able to resume travel after three years of COVID-19 restrictions.

(1 dollar = 0.9436 euros)

(Report by Matteo Allievi and Corina Pons. Edited in Spanish by Javier Leira)