What better way to celebrate 50 glorious years than rewarding yourself with the mother of all luxurious makeovers?

That’s what has rightly been bestowed upon the gorgeously elegant Corinthia Palace Hotel & Spa, a Maltese jewel set in the heart of the island near to historic Mdina.

The property celebrated its 50th anniversary last year and kicked off a year-long refurbishment of the property, commencing with a new executive lounge for guests staying in suites and executive rooms.

Overlooking the hotel’s striking gardens and complete with its own private terrace, the new lounge offers a private breakfast, and complimentary beverages and snacks throughout the day, including a tempting afternoon tea with home-made cakes.

Personalised services including a private meeting space are also available. At the end of the year, the new contemporary lobby and guest rooms were unveiled which combine modern design with the elegance of the 1960s, when the original hotel was built.

This year sees the launch of the newly refurbished Athenaeum Spa, which is due to reopen in the autumn and is set to become a destination spa on the island. New facilities will include a manicure and pedicure salon, hot relaxation beds, experience showers, a relaxation room and vitality, outdoor plunge and thermal pools.and stock market volatility, the US economy remains remarkably sturdy with strong jobs and manufacturing gains reported at the start of 2019. Both corporate and agency planners based in the US are positive about the potential for further growth in luxury events.

Joost de Meyer, chairman and CEO at First Incentive Travel, says: “You never know what will happen with politics and there are concerns that we may be due another recession. But I think we will see more growth this year and next, particularly in incentive travel as companies want to reward their employees.”

Director of incentive travel at beauty and cosmetics brand Mary Kay Corp, Steve Hodges agrees and says the increased interest in luxury events and incentives is being driven by “society moving from materialistic rewards to experience rewards”. However, he adds that extra attention is required now to ensure there is the best return possible attached to budgeted dollars. 

“You look more closely at your qualifier population to decide what motivates them. For example, some of our groups have basically the same population from year to year and they all know each other well but only see each other a few times a year,” he explains. “Rather than spend a lot of money on welcome evening entertainment, we use those funds elsewhere because at the welcome event, we know that networking and socialising is more important than being entertained.”

The US market is also experiencing short lead times, and as a result “many hotels are full in many destinations markets, so booking has been tough for groups. This means travel is up though which is good,” says Cochrane.

This feature is taken from our first annual trends report.