Last week we told you about BELTRAIDE and the Spa and Wellness Association's "Maya Spa Experience Brand Competition". Certified massage therapists and their teams were challenged to come up with a Maya themed spa treatment that incorporates all five senses. Each treatment was judged by a panel of Maya culture and spa experts, and today the winners were chosen. We stopped by the award ceremony to speak to the winners, as well organizers about what's next for Belize's very own spa experience...
Shari Williams - Manager, Marketing and Infor, BTEC
"Last week we had two days of competition trying to develop a Maya inspired spa branding that would be typical for the country of Belize. We wanted to do something like for example you go anywhere in the world and people request the Swedish massage and the massage therapist would know exactly what it is. Well we wanted to develop a brand that was identical for Belize and so we came up with a Maya inspired massage. And so to develop this brand we invited 12 teams to take part in a competition in telling us what they thought, you know a Maya inspired massage should be, and so today is the awarding of the three, four top teams. But we made it clear that even though these teams won the competition meaning they got the most points, we would draw inspiration from all the teams that showcased what their thought was, what their inspiration was and so now we're coming up with the Maya inspired branding and we're taking inspiration from all the presentations that we say throughout the two day period."
Hon. Tracey Taegarr-Panton - Min. of State, Trade
"I think it's extremely important that we create Belizean products and brands that we can export to the rest of the world, and we can use to develop our standards and our industry here and that can be exported. So it is not only a matter of new investment, new products, but also an opportunity for trade."
Dominica Busano - 1st Place/Naia Resort and Spa
"Well first I must say that it was a lot of work, a lot of intense training. We travelled to Punta Gorda to other Maya villages and we visited some Maya, some older folks to get some idea you know. And we had help from Ms. Aurora Saki from Maya Center, she's a Maya healer for over 11 years and we also had the help of Ms. Lissa Villanueva the owner of Holistic School of Massage and Spa therapy and we just combined with other ideas and stuff and we just came up with the treatment. And we also used accessories that the Maya used in their daily lives and daily basis and then we just made the treatment and we did it."
The official treatment will be unveiled next month.
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