Royal Caribbean International has announced the extension of its trade competition ‘The Royal Pitch’, with judge and entrepreneur Levi Roots returning for a second season.
The competition, designed solely for travel agents who are members of a consortium, saw the cruise line invest £200,000 in “forward-thinking business concepts” from 20 travel agents.
For the next 12 months, Royal Caribbean will be upping their investment prize pot to up to £300,000 across four rounds of competitive pitching.
Following the same format as the original competition, the extended ‘Royal Pitch’ will see finalists pitch their creative business proposals in front of a panel of experts to win investment from the cruise line.
There are four opportunities to enter The Royal Pitch over the next 12 months, with the first round open for entries in early April 2023.
The first day of in-person pitching and judging for the pitch programme will take place on 26June, 2023 at Royal Caribbean’s headquarters in Weybridge, Surrey.
Three further rounds of entries and live events taking place before March 2024.
To send in their ideas, agents will need to submit a video via the Club Royal website that details their creative business proposal and requested investment in under five minutes.
At the live final events, the judges will then determine which shortlisted ideas win a share of the total prize.
Levi, founder of Reggae Reggae Sauce Ltd, comments:
“Over the last 12 months, we’ve seen some strong and inspiring pitches, it’s been great to see agents take on our feedback and advice that we’ve shared along the way.
“As we enter our second year of the competition, I’m excited to see what fresh ideas agents have to offer.”
Joining Levi Roots on the expert judging panel will once again be Royal Caribbean’s own Vice President of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Ben Bouldin, and Director of Sales for the UK, Ireland and Spain, Stuart Byron.
All judges will be on the lookout for the next big idea – something that’ll genuinely make an impact on business performance and drive profitable results for both the travel partner and Royal Caribbean.
Stuart comments: “We’re excited to extend the Royal Pitch competition following the success of the last year and offer even more agents the opportunity to win investment for their business.
“I would advise any agents thinking of entering to give it a go and show us your innovation and out-of-the-box thinking.”
Closing off the fourth round of the current competition, four finalists won a share of £51,000 to help make their creative business ideas a reality.
The last four winners of the 2022 competition hailed from Kuoni, Oasis Travel, Newell’s Travel and Chester Travel Connections.
The investment given on 15 February will go towards a range of propositions including in-store wall livery, immersive digital window displays and a family event centred around Royal Caribbean’s exclusive destination, Perfect Day at CocoCay.
More details on Royal Caribbean’s exclusive competition for consortia members and how to enter are available at www.myclubroyal.co.uk.
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