One of the most sought after openings in its category in the previous decade, the iconic Atlantis The Palm is fast catching the imagination of Indian travellers. Atlantis, since opening in September 2008, has grown from being a hotel to a destination and an experience in itself. Speaking to T3 on the sidelines of the recent concluded South Asia’s biggest travel show SATTE, Kyp Charalambous, Director of International Sales, Atlantis, The Palm, informed that, over the last five years, India has been contributing 10 per cent of the property’s overall business.
From a growth perspective, in 2013, India was Atlantis’ largest growth market, ascending at a rate of 22 per cent over the previous year. “Looking ahead in 2014, our goal is to drive not just more volume, but also more revenue out of the Indian market. We really want to get the luxury and suites products across to the Indian market,” he stated.
As a property, Atlantis, The Palm average 86 per cent in room occupancy, which for a five star luxury beach product is rather high. “Therefore, looking ahead, we need to ensure to maintain and even grow the occupancy. But we ultimately want the spend in the resort to grow as well. Our goal is to try and encourage our Indian guests to stay longer. Many of our guests come for an average of about two nights. We want our Indian guest to stay four to five nights because we believe that there is so much to see and do across Atlantis that one or two nights is just not enough,” said Charalambous.
Today, India ranks among the top six markets for the property. Charalambous attributes the growth to a combination of sales, marketing and PR plans executed through its representation office in India. “We are a very trade friendly resort. We value the business from our trade partners phenomenally. Besides, we spend a lot of time in sales trip and roadshows around India. We will continue to support the trade partners in future through co-op marketing and initiatives such as incentive campaign,” he said.
Participation at SATTE is part of Atlantis, The Palm’s annual strategy to work with the travel trade in the region. Speaking about how the event helps the property grow its business, Charalambous stated that, over the years, SATTE has become an institution in the travel industry. “This is the fifth year that we have come to SATTE. And having expanded the show to Mumbai as well gives us opportunity to not only penetrate the Delhi market but also to target Mumbai market. Overall we find the show very beneficial as it is a great platform to meet our partners and discuss business with them,” he concluded.
