I was thrilled to be able to represent VAX at the 10th anniversary of the Romance Travel Forum (RTF) hosted at the amazing Secrets Moxche June 25-28, 2023. I have heard nothing but amazing feedback about this resort so was excited to check it out for myself, and let me just say, it did not disappoint!
Secrets Moxche was the perfect resort for “Celebrating 10 years of Love” with 83 suppliers and 170 travel advisors from North America as it is a fantastic option for honeymoons or a destination wedding. I have attended RTF numerous times in the past, and the team that coordinates this event, led by Jennifer Fernandez at Travel Show Marketing Group, has created a reputable conference that not only attracts top romance travel advisors but a great variety of suppliers.
After a beautiful, beachfront welcome dinner, we started Day 1 with a general session where they provided industry updates such as 54% of honeymooners are going to the Caribbean with the biggest growth island being Saint Lucia. The most popular destination wedding area remains Quintana Roo with 68% of the business. With Europe being so popular this year, it wasn’t a surprise to see the most popular long haul honeymoons going to Italy and Greece.
The next two days were filled with peer-to-peer sessions led by respected travel advisors sharing their best practices and expertise as well as one-on-one meetings with suppliers. Over the course of the conference, I had 44, ten-minute individual meetings with advisors which was the perfect time to demonstrate the launch of our new content on our destination pages.
Advisors loved that there is no need to go searching for updated, reliable destination content anymore, they just need to visit our destination page in VAX where you can find real-time information varying from things to see and do to the best local restaurants, all of which can be shared with clients in an easily downloadable guide.
We were spoiled with a night out at AIC Hotel Group’s Unico 20 87 resort where they highlighted many of the activities the resort offers with different art stations the advisors could participate in. The key chain macrame station was my favorite, but I proudly brought home my hand painting of a beach scene.
For our final event, Secrets Moxche wowed us with a beachfront wedding set up with the most uniquely beautiful tent ceiling. The surprise of the night came when we were given the password and early access through The Pharmacy to the resort “speakeasy” nightclub where everyone danced and celebrated a successful conference!
If you are interested in attending next year’s event, keep an eye on their website, www.romancetravelforum.com, for when they announce the 2024 conference and application process details.
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