With its enviable location atop the crescent of The Palm, the opening of Atlantis in 2008 has redefined tourism in Dubai as the first fully integrated entertainment destination resort. We speak to Kyp Charalambous, Vice President, Sales, Atlantis - The Palm, on how he plans to promote the destination in future and the market reach from tier 1 to tier 2/3 cities in India.

BWH: Tell us about your latest services in brief?
Kyp Charalabous: Atlantis, The Palm offers an experience of being transported into a dazzling, imaginative world where guests can enjoy numerous attractions such as one of the most sophisticated dolphin habitats in the world – Dolphin Bay, the 17 hectare Aquaventure Waterpark, and the Lost Chambers Aquarium, an underwater world of avenues and passageways where the ruins and relics of Atlantean life are found intertwined with over 65,000 marine animals. With excellent outdoor and indoor venues and a range of culinary options, including 23 restaurants, bars and lounges to suit every taste, the dining and entertainment at Atlantis is as exciting and multi-faceted as the resort itself, catering to guests from around the world.

BWH: What special programmes are being adopted for travel agents?
KC: Atlantis offers travel agents the opportunity to embark upon e-training courses through the OTT platform, which aims to enhance product knowledge and sales confidence. As content is uploaded directly by Atlantis, it also ensures information is relevant, recent and market specific. Upon completion of the training, members will receive a certificate and additionally will be entered into prize draws as part of an incentivised programme, giving participants the chance to win trips to Atlantis to further enhance their training experience.

Apart from this, Atlantis will introduce an incentive offer for top selected travel partners in India starting (7 May – 30th Sep 2017). For each 50 room nights confirmed, the travel partner qualifies for an all-expense-paid trip to Atlantis, The Palm for 2 nights and 3 days.

BWH: What sort of dynamic programmes have been adopted to make it more interesting for Corporates and Family visitors this year?
KC: The unique ocean-themed resort has activities to suit every preference. For family, we have interactive summer camps which include classes like Junior Masterchef, Adventure Seeker, Aquamania and more. We feature a variety of entertainment facilities that is open to all guests such as Dolphin Bay, Sea Lion Point, Ray Feeding, and the number one waterpark in the Middle East- Aquaventure. Atlantis, The Palm is also known as the culinary destination in the region with a collection of world-renowned restaurants including Bread Street Kitchen & Bar, Nobu and Ronda Locatelli. The resort boasts an impressive collection of luxury boutiques and shops as well as extensive meeting and convention facilities. The resort offers a newly introduced underwater yoga class in The Lost Chambers Aquarium twice a week.

BWH: How do you consistently evolve over time to ensure the best possibility of long term success?
KC: Since its opening in 2008 Atlantis has expanded the market reach from tier 1 to tier 2/3 cities in India. Year on year, India has achieved an average of 15% increase in room nights, creating strong brand awareness in the market with various celebrity associations and trade and direct consumer promotions. To create top of mind recall we work on various consumer outreach programmes and trade incentive programmes in the Indian market that taps not just into the metro cities but the tier 2 cities. We will also continue to participate in travel trade fairs. Atlantis, The Palm caters to all cultural preferences, for Indian guests, specifically with culinary offerings, entertainment options, banqueting facilities for weddings and large scale events. There has been a growing trend from Indian travellers who prefer to stay more than two nights to enjoy the various entertainment facilities and unique experiences within the resort such as Aquaventure, Dolphin Bay and Sea Lion Point as well as the 23 unique dining outlets, increasing the room nights from the Indian market.

BWH: What kind of activities is Atlantis planning to boost MICE?
KC: Boasting one of the largest conference centres in Dubai and a variety of other venues to choose from, Atlantis, the Palm’s state-of-the-art conference facilities are available for any function, gala, seminar, conference of corporate get-together. Currently, Atlantis is running a MICE offer for clients of Indian travel agents and trade partners whereby for a minimum booking of 40 Deluxe Rooms rates from AED 800 (approx. INR 14,100) can be applied, valid for bookings until 30 June for stay until 20 December, 2017. The resort also offers venues with an exceptional ambience such as the Royal Terrace and Royal Beach, The Lost Chambers Aquarium and Ossiano with breathtaking underwater views. Asateer is the flagship venue to accommodate up to 2,500 people and is the perfect location for weddings, fashion shows, gala dinners and large staged events.

BWH: Tell us your top source markets?
KC: Our 10 top source markets in 2017 are Great Britain, China, India, UAE, Germany, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Russia, France and United States. Atlantis enjoys an occupancy rate of 89% on an average with India being one of our biggest international markets for FIT (Free Independent Travellers) and MICE. Each year, we observe a constant growth of visitors from India and see tremendous potential in the Indian outbound FIT and MICE segment. Atlantis has achieved nearly 20% increase in room nights, from India, in the first quarter of 2017 as compared to last year.

BWH: What are the milestones achieved so far since the opening?
KC: Since the opening of Atlantis in 2008, the resort is proud to have launched Sandance, Dubai’s extraordinary music festival, newly refurbished ‘Wellness’ Centre at ShuiQi Spa & Fitness features Technogym’s exclusive ARTIS range, the first integrated collection of cardio, strength and functional equipment in the region. Atlantis has consistently increased room night production from India with unique awareness activities such as popular award functions, hosting Indian movie filmings including Happy New Year by Red Chillies Entertainment featuring Shah Rukh Khan, Kung Fu Yoga, a cooperation between the Indian and Chinese film industry and more.

BWH: What are the strategies for 2017?
KC: Atlantis will continue to work with valued travel trade partners to increase top of mind recall and attract repeat guests and new visitors each year as there is always more to explore and new experiences to indulge in. Our examples of innovations include Underwater Yoga in The Lost Chambers Aquarium, Bread Street Kitchen by Gordon Ramsay, Aqua Trek in The Ambassador Lagoon, 3 metre shallow trek where guests can discover how it feels to breathe and walk underwater and the all-new Lebanese restaurant, Ayamna, just to name a few. One Imperial Club offering is accompanied by value added benefits and is interesting for the Indian market since it is unique in regards to value for money. Atlantis has become a popular long weekend getaway and a stop-over destination for business travellers, female travellers and families, especially from India. Atlantis, The Palm strives to offer the best experience of an ideal holiday destination and continue to be creative to surpass guest expectations.