Sunlife targets trade with three UK appointments

Sunlife, the Mauritius hotel group formerly known as Sun Resorts, has made three appointments as part of its growth and development strategy in the UK market.

Lisa Balsom joins as sales and marketing director for the UK, Ireland and Scandinavia, having previously worked for Sunlife in a consultancy role.

Before that, she was head of Etihad Holidays in the UK, looking after the sales strategy, B2C marketing and contact centre.

More: Mauritian hotel group Sun Resorts rebrands to Sunlife

She has more than 25 years’ experience in sales and marketing in the travel industry for brands including Jumeirah, Peninsula Hotels and British Airways, spanning the UK, Europe and the Middle East.

Her role with Sunlife will see her developing the brand’s trade partnerships in the UK and expanding into wider European markets for the first time.

Emma Waycott joins the Sunlife UK team to consult on building business across the meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE) sector.

Previously the managing director at Vinetree Connections, she has been in the MICE sector for more than 18 years and specialised in supplier sales promotions.

Lucy Grey has been promoted to account manager for the UK, Ireland and Scandinavia having joined the group more than five years ago.

Grey’s new role builds on her work with key accounts in the UK, driving sales and revenue growth across the Sunlife resorts.

Her past roles include being a travel sales consultant for luxury tour operators Abercrombie & Kent and Wexas Travel.

Joelle Edwards-Tonks, chief sales and marketing officer at Sunlife, said: “Our recent rebrand from Sun Resorts to Sunlife marks a new era for us, building on the history and heritage of Sun and over 45 years’ as one of the leading luxury brands in Mauritius.

“Reinforcing our Europe team with the addition of Lisa and Emma, along with Lucy’s promotion enables us to develop our existing trade relationships and to reach new, valued partners as we strive to build brand awareness and increase visitors to Mauritius that are choosing Sunlife as their preferred luxury resorts.”

The hotel group comprises four properties – five-star hotels Sugar Beach and Long Beach and four-star properties La Pirogue and Ambre – as well as private island Il aus Cerfs, home to the Ile aux Cerfs Golf Club.

The rebrand sees the 40-year-old company retain the familiar ‘sun’ element of its name, while introducing the ‘life’ element to “embody a new energy and lifestyle”.