Palm Beach.—The delegates of Aruba Meets Europe Convention, 2005, spent the day at the Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino. The morning sessions offered learning opportunities. Key Note speaker Andy Mosmans, Chief Marketing Officer, ARA, Rotterdam, gave an interesting presentation regarding branding in the world’s largest industry, the travel trade.
“In the battle for the consumer’s mind,” he said, “‘Brand & Be Happy,’ commanding more money, preferred status, and an increase in business and a better position in the market.” How to do that? Differentiate; be relevant, yet different; promise and deliver each time, were some of his useful tips on a business and personal level.
During the morning, delegates were also educated and informed by Aruba’s activity operators such as De Palm Tours and Economy Rent a Car; they were also entertained for lunch at the Sunset Grille the resort’s four diamond steakhouse.
More than sixty European travel specialists are currently in Aruba as guests of the Aruba Tourism Authority and the Aruba Hotel & Tourism Association. They came here to experience the island's vacation product first hand at the Aruba Meets Europe Convention. They hail from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, the Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, and the UK.
The afternoon sessions offered a trade show and an opportunity for the local hoteliers to connect and form relationships with the visitors. Delegates pictured here in a group gathering on the lawn at the resort say they enjoyed Aruba's hospitality, while some have been working with the island for a while, most of them were new and very impressed.
