Sandals Resorts has made it clear to Jamaican travel advisors (formerly travel agents) that its world-renowned hotel chain welcomes local and Caribbean guests as much as it does visitors from the rest of the globe who flock the region to soak up its top-class offerings.

Marking the start of the annually celebrated Global Travel Advisors Month this week, Sandals hosted travel advisors from across Jamaica to experience first hand the facilities that have made the resort the Caribbean’s leading brand, and signal that its arms are open to locals.

In keeping with that message, Unique Vacations, the affiliate of the worldwide representatives of Sandals and Beaches Resorts, sent its most powerful sales executive, Gary Sadler, who travelled all night from Las Vegas, United States, to meet the travel advisors Sunday evening for dinner at the Sandals Royal Plantation in Ocho Rios, St Ann.

“The success of our organisation would not be possible without the support that we get from travel advisors, and while we are doing everything globally to promote tourism, we will not forget Jamaicans and the rest of the Caribbean people,” said Sadler, the Jamaican-born executive vice-president of sales and industry relations at Miami-based Unique Vacations.

“There are non-stop flights three times a week to Nassau, The Bahamas, from Jamaica; there are non-stop flights twice a week from the Turks and Caicos Islands from Jamaica connecting through Antigua; there are flights two times a week to Antigua and Barbados. It means that we can serve the Caribbean.

“And if I can ask one thing of you as travel advisors, it is that you look at the Caribbean as a raised platform for Sandals and Beaches Resorts, to bring the value of these resorts and the experience of guest satisfaction to Caribbean people.”

Sadler said there was clear indication that the Jamaican travel advisors were selling Sandals, not just for holiday weekends or special occasions but on a regular basis. He expected that Sandals Dunn’s River, which opens this month near Ocho Rios, would be extremely popular with Jamaicans.

“This will be so as you sell the Sandals dream of sky pool suites, rondoval suites, the sky gazer suites and all the top room categories that this ultra-modern resort will carry,” said Sadler.

The occasion was used to award Novlet Minott who operates the 10-year-old Nova Events and Travel out of Portmore, for achieving 115 Sandals bookings in 2022, and already 57 bookings for 2023, after only starting in 2021.

Minott said that when she began selling Sandals, she did not know how to sell the product. There was a view among some Jamaicans that Sandals was for foreigners only. But with the extraordinary support from the Sandals staff, she had learnt very quickly and was able to dispel that view.

Singling out director of sales and convention at Sandals Ochi Beach Resort Carnel Smith for his yeoman support, Minott said: “I feel very proud of my achievements and my aim is to surpass my performance of last year. My Jamaican and Bahamian clients have told me how much they enjoyed themselves at Sandals and that has made the job so much easier.”

The travel advisors were taken on tours of three of the Ocho Rios resorts and participated in a sip and paint session with artist Wilfred Black, while saxophonist Shaun Lee entertained.