Premier DMC has a long standing reputation for quality and excellent service in the Cyprus conference and incentives sector. So when Thanos Hotels were organizing a VIP familiarization trip to Cyprus for key conference and incentives buyers from the UK market, they chose to work with trusted partner Premier DMC, who were responsible for development of an interesting and professional ground program. The aim of this trip was to showcase Cyprus' potential and unique qualities as a destination for corporate events, as most of the buyers on the trip had never visited the island before.
The Thanos Hotels group includes some of Cyprus leading luxury hotels including the world famous Anassa, Almyra and Annabelle, providing the very best in luxury and high end conference and incentives facilites.
Premier DMC's qualified and highly experienced ground team were responsible for meeting and greeting the guests at the airport and arranging luxury transfers to the Anassa hotel in Paphos, where the 7 key organizers were staying from 17-20 March 2009. From the moment they arrived, they experienced the wow factor of the professional Premier service and superb attention to detail.
The programme involved visits to all 3 hotels of the Thanos Group as well as gourmet lunches and dinners at the various beautiful and stunning venues of the hotels. During their free time, they also had the opportunity to indulge in some treatments at the world-famous Anassa spa and to be introduced to another great unique aspect of Cyprus, which is the provision of a variety of beautiful spas throughout the island providing group spa experiences for corporate delegates.
Premier also arranged a tour for the guests, by jeep, for them to experience the stunning unspoilt Akamas peninsula and to see first-hand the beauty and nature of this picturesque setting.
As none of the delegates knew each other prior to the trip, Premier DMC decided to make things more interesting and encourage some team involvement, in the form of a Polaroid photo competition which provided entertainment as well as team building and succeeded in bringing everyone closer together.
Also key to their short Cyprus experience was immersion in the island’s culture and the opportunity to see some other towns. The group were taken to Limassol’s Old Town Area, where they had the chance to walk around the shops, see local handicrafts and traditional produces such as loukoumia, oil and nuts and enjoy a tour of Limassol castle where Richard the Lionheart famously married Berengaria. On the way to the airport, a farewell lunch in a local tavern allowed them to experience the famous mouthwatering Cyprus meze, including the local traditional delicacy ‘bourekia’, a delicious warm pastry filled with anari cheese.
All the delegates were delighted with their trip and all evaluated the islands potential for their events as very positive, and there was resounding approval for Cyprus as a corporate event venue.
One of the guests, Derek Dewar from Conference Selection in the UK, thoroughly enjoyed his Cyprus experience, taking the time to write back to thank the team for the wonderful few days he had, which he said were perfect, and that he was looking forward to working together with them again soon.