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“ Our strategy is to have more MICE business. Obviously, it will take more share, but the volume of leisure business we have will stay the same. We don’ t want the volume of leisure business to decrease but we want MICE business to increase where we have space,” Nunhukh said.
Flexibility and key markets Asked about the challenges presented by the MICE sector, there was not much that Sugar Beach could not do, Nunhukh argued:“ We have large resorts. If you are telling me that we need to accommodate 2,000 people for an event at this resort, OK we won’ t be able to. But we will find a way to do it with our neighbours( La Pirogue, for example).”
MICE booking visibility is looking“ reasonable” at the moment, the sales team reported, although certain markets like India and South Africa tend to be more last minute. In terms of MICE, France and South Africa are Sunlife’ s biggest markets. The UK, which used to be the biggest MICE market, is Sunlife’ s biggest market in terms of leisure and weddings, followed by Germany.“ We are keen to develop the UK as a MICE market because we believe we are missing something,” Nunhukh added, flagging that although Sunlife is promoting the company at big shows such as WTM and IBTM, he believed they had not fully demonstrated Sunlife
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resorts’ meetings and events potential.
Long Beach The second Sunlife resort for me in Mauritius was the 5-star Long Beach resort. Situated an hour’ s drive away on the east coast and opened in 2010, the difference in terms of size with Sugar Beach is striking, as the fleet of buggies for ferrying guests around the resort next to the reception shows, so too the large number and variety of event spaces and leisure facilities that are available.
In terms of indoor event space, Long Beach has a fully equipped conference centre, which can cater for up to 250 people, featuring individual rooms( Balao, Bombora) for seminars or smaller meetings, and its own veranda for breakout refreshments and dinners. The resort also has five restaurants.
In terms of outdoor venue space, Long Beach really comes into its own – for example the Piazza in the heart of the resort, the Green Lawn( for up to 230 guests), the Ocean Green lawn( up to 1,500), the chef’ s garden( up to 100) and perhaps the jewel in the crown in terms of serene setting, Orizon, which can cater for up to 300 people.
Shirley Farreedun-Wick, MICE sales manager at the resort, was quick to flag the opportunities offered by the range of venues at the resort, that it is flexible on room cost to attract big MICE groups,
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Right: Incorporate some local culture into your conference
Left: Roll out the red carpet for events in one of four resorts
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and that the ultimate aim is“ to make Long Beach the MICE hotel of the group”. She highlighted the ability to hold numerous events at the same time without disturbing guests.
Love and golf island Love makes the world go around, as the saying goes, and Mauritius’ s natural beauty provides an idyllic setting for a wedding and honeymoon. Consequently, demand for weddings or the renewal of vows, both locally and globally, is an important source of revenue for Sunlife, and the bigger, the more lavish the wedding, the more scope there is for a partial or even total total buyout at one of its resorts.
Sugar Beach has been able to accommodate a big wedding from India and there is a large Jewish wedding from France coming to the resort, which will include preparation of kosher food at one of its restaurants.
Money can’ t buy me love, as the Beatles famously sang, but demand for getting married in idyllic romantic settings such as Mauritius is considerable and obviously requires deep pockets, all of which is good news for Sunlife revenues.
To cater for golf groups, Sunlife offers a spectacular Bernhard Langer designed course on Ile aux Cerfs, a 20-minute boat ride from near Long Beach, which can also be used for private events for up to 2,000 people as Sunlife has a 60- year lease on the island. The company also operates two other golf courses on Mauritius, Anahita Golf Club and Tamarina Golf Club, not far from Sugar Beach. n
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