Sol Melia Caribbean Hotels - SOL MELIA BRINGS THE WARMTH OF THE CARIBBEAN TO EUROPE

Between April and June 2007, the North America and Caribbean Division of Sol Meliá has been carrying out a groundbreaking promotion in the hotel industry. Hotel chains generally invite small groups of travel agents to visit their hotels, but this time around Sol Meliá has taken Caribbean cuisine, culture, folklore and colour to 9 major European cities. The Flavours and Colours of the Americas roadshow is a major sales promotion for the different destinations involved, all of them popular amongst European travellers, and also many of the hotel chain’s major travel partners.

Multi-million dollar investments by the company in recent years have led to the addition of Gabi Club, Nikki Beach, Romance by Paradisus, Family Concierge or the Experience Manager as just some of the new features Sol Meliá offers in the Caribbean. Apart from these new features, Sol Meliá has also created the new ME by Meliá hotel brand in the Caribbean and has renovated and extended several hotels in the region.

To present all of these new products and services, a strong team of experts in food and beverage, hotel activities, sales and management from the Sol Meliá teams in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Panama and Puerto Rico have been hosting major events in key European cities between April and June.

After the kick-off in Berlin at the end of April, Flavours and Colours has moved on each week to Zurich, Frankfurt, Barcelona, Milan, Paris, Brussels, Madrid and finally London to host food festivals, make presentations in booking centres, attend events with the radio and press, provide training for travel agents, and host shows imported directly from the Caribbean.

Training, cuisine and fun

The event consists of three main parts to help transmit the magic of Sol Meliá in the Caribbean to the residents in each of the cities. The Food Festival will open the doors to Flavours and Colours to visitors with a whole week of promotion of all of the most appetising local dishes from each of the countries attending the event.

At the same time, the Flavours and Colours team will be taking the aromas, colours and textures created by the hotel activities and food and beverage teams out on the road to meet travel agents. The sales force will then be presenting all of the new features in company hotels in the region to the travel agents.

To round off this major event, each of the cities has hosted a “Desire” night. London will be doing the same, hosting a party which will kick off with a training session so that travel agents can learn more about the Sol Meliá brands, hotels and attributes in the Caribbean and receive a certificate at the end of the training. The “Desire” night will end with a fun-packed evening provided by the hotel entertainment and food and beverage teams designed to transmit the colours, flavours and sensation of Sol Meliá hotels in the Caribbean.

Leading partners

The tourism authorities of Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico will take part in the promotion, along with major European tour operators including TUI, Thomas Cook, Meiers, Hotelplan, Kuoni, Iberworld, Travelplan, Iberojet, Nouvelles Frontieres, VAT, Jetair, and Firstchoice, amongst others. Other important partner companies such as Air Europa, Air Berlín, Lufthansa and AVIS, along with Corona, Brugal, Cuervo, DMC Cancún and Empresa de Cigarros Dominicanos will also play an active role in each city.

The roadshow has visited:

Berlin 23 to 30 April
Zurich from 30 April to 4 May
Frankfurt from 4 to 10 May
Barcelona from 11 to 22 May
Milan from 22 to 28 May
Paris from 28 May to 4 June
Brussels from 4 to 9 June
Madrid from 9 to 18 June
London from 18 to 23 June