CastaDiva Resort & Spa, an establishment located on the banks of Lake Como, Italy, recently organised the Flavours of Italy by CastaDiva at The Ambassador Hotel, Mumbai. The six-day long culinary showcase, hosted by Alessio Mecozzi, Executive Chef, CastaDiva; Andrea Luri, General Manager, CastaDiva; and Davide Rotondo, F&B Manager, CastaDiva, and coordinated by Karl and Amala Dantas, invited the travel trade, media, and the general public, to The Ambassador Hotel’s Society Restaurant for an Italian gourmet dining experience. The effort was CastaDiva’s first attempt to woo Indian travellers to the property.
“For us, the Indian market is an important one. We are a relatively new property on Lake Como, which itself is a relatively new destination to India. So far, Indian numbers are not even in double digits in terms of percentage. It is important that we start nurturing emerging and untapped markets along with established ones, because we cannot put all our eggs in one basket. For instance, the Russian market’s signs this year are not positive because the Rouble has collapsed, and there is a tax on luxury goods. What is happening in Ukraine is not good either. So it’s a good idea to be here first and invest in emerging markets such as India, Brazil etc.,” opined Luri.
The property has taken similar initiatives in the past in Dubai and New York, and felt that, while communications and sales actions cannot be left to just sales calls and trade shows, which is a route that everyone follows, an initiative of this kind was necessary to make a mark on the Indian traveller. Believing that The Ambassador, as well as The Society restaurant, have a history and heritage that make the hotel a perfect partner for the activity, CastaDiva joined hands with the property for the initiative.
“The idea was to do something different from a trade show, which does help business, but you get lost in a crowd and the target segment gets diluted. Here, we have 500-600 people expected in the next six days, which will showcase both properties,” said Geoff Magee, Vice President Operations, The Ambassador Group of Hotels.
Unravelling their plans for working with the travel trade in India, Luri stated that the establishment will return to educate the fraternity about the property, and will also plan familiarisation trips for them. Speaking about their target segments, Luri revealed that their main focus is FIT, and that the property witnesses 99 per cent of leisure traffic. He further added that, while there are facilities for small meetings, a MICE or group segment accommodation is difficult, unless the property is taken over by a company for an event.
