Karisma Hotels & Resorts has had its best year ever in 2022, and this year, Canadians returned to playing a significant role in that success. As a result, the company is in the process of hiring two Business Development Managers to be based in Canada.

At the 15th-annual Gourmet Inclusive Vacation Consultant Awards at the El Dorado Royale, Vice President Global Sales Marilyn Cairo thanked Canadian tour operators Air Canada Vacations, Sunwing, TravelBrands and WestJet Vacations for their role in bringing Canadians to all-inclusive resort brands including Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts, Margaritaville Island Reserve, Margaritaville Beach Resort, El Dorado and Azul.

“You guys put yourselves back on the map,” Cairo said, in thanking Canadian travel advisors and operators for their support. She referenced Canada’s tough COVID travel restrictions, saying: “Canadians follow rules, Americans could care less.”

With increasing inventory, Karisma is beefing up its sales teams in Mexico, Latin America, the U.S. and Canada. But the news that the company will once again have dedicated representatives in Canada is the news Canadian agents have wanted to hear.

The company is set to open two new properties in the coming months. TravelPulse Canada had a hard hat tour yesterday of Margaritaville Island Reserve Riviera Maya, set to open in early 2023. That will be followed later in the year with the family-owned company’s first property in Belize, the Margaritaville Beach Resort, Ambergris Caye.

Frank Maduro, who recently joined the Karisma family as the President of Premier Worldwide Marketing, the exclusive global marketing and sales representative for Karisma Hotels, told an audience of about 250 travel advisors that he joined the company because of its “great brands and supportive and engaged ownership,” and because Karisma “shares my philosophy of travel agent love and support through thick and thin.”

Maduro noted that a recent U.S. survey found that 72% of travellers who went to all-inclusive resorts used an agent to make their booking.

The pandemic has changed travellers, Maduro said. “People are being choosy and selective. They want to have unique experiences. And they’re willing to pay.”

He added that travel agents are more important than ever in an evolved environment. “Agents are influencers in the travel space. We will be together for a very long time.”

Today, tour operator representatives and media are travelling to Holbox Island to see the newest Karisma property, the intimate Margaritaville St. Somewhere by Karisma, Punta Coco. The 39-suite resort is located on Holbox Island, a car-free island located between the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, just north of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Tonight, attendees will gather for the gala awards ceremony at a ballroom in El Dorado Royale. More coverage to follow.