On Thursday, November 9th, Skal International Côte d’Azur celebrated the 90th anniversary of its creation at the prestigious Hôtel Martinez in Cannes.
The event kicked off with a round-table discussion on the theme of “Tourism, Culture and Heritage”, moderated by Bérangère Authieu, CEO of the agency “Your Travel Experience” and President of the Jeune Chambre Économique de Cannes – Pays de Lérins. Five speakers, from a wide variety of backgrounds related to the theme, shared their observations and ideas for developing tourism promotion on the Riviera.
– Alexandra Borchio Fontimp: Senator for the Alpes Maritimes and President of CRT Côte d’Azur France
– Michel Cottray: General Manager, Hôtel Martinez, Cannes
– Thomas De Pariente : Cannes Town Hall: Deputy in charge of tourism, events, international relations, decentralized cooperation and casinos.
– Thierry Douet: General Manager, Mercure Nice Centre Notre-Dame hotel.
– Johanne Lindskog: Heritage Curator and Director of the Musée des Beaux-Arts Jules Chéret in Nice.
Following the round table, the ceremonial part of Skal International Côte d’Azur’s 90th-anniversary celebration was launched by President Nicolle Martin, who welcomed the registered participants. Among them was a strong delegation from Skal International, including a number of prominent figures:
Skal International world president Juan Steta,
Skal Rome President Luigi Sciarra
Past World President Burcin Turkkan
President of Skal Paris Karine Coulanges
Skal Var/Provence President Isabelle Salle
President of Skal Monaco Jonas Ogren
Vice-President of Skal Instanbul Hulya Aslantas
Skal Québec representative Michelle Doré
Skal Luxembourg representative Jean-Pierre Kessler
Skal Switzerland representative Laurent Cuennet
Skal Paris representatives Jacqueline Joly, Renate Wagon and Nicole Jobin
Director of Skal International Europe Bertrand Petyt
In the magnificent setting of the salons of the Hôtel Martinez, with the help of Master of Ceremonies Siegfried Haack, Nicolle Martin retraced the history of Skal International Côte d’Azur and its assumption of the presidency in 2018, which has enabled it to grow from 9 to 233 members in the space of 5 years, making it the world’s leading club.
She then proceeded to induct two new members:
Alexis Kaplan – co-founder of Kauntom – godfather Bertrand Petyt
Michel Cottray – General Manager Hotel Martinez – godfather Juan Steta
This was followed by the twinning ceremony between Skal International Côte d’Azur and its Roman counterpart, represented by President Luigi Sciarra.
The party was then in full swing with a cocktail reception prepared by executive chef Jean Imbert’s teams, to the sound of the Mash’up trio.
The evening’s partners:
Fiesta for Event – Jean Paul Niggio
Evenjoy – Aurelio Stella
Kuantom – Alexis Kaplan
Côte de Provence wines – Château Demonpère
Champagne – Eric Schreiber
A legendary hotel inaugurated in 1929, Hôtel Martinez embodies the essence of the Côte d’Azur, the harmony between generous nature and the Mediterranean art of living. Famous for its warm, welcoming atmosphere, this lifestyle destination has always been a must on the Croisette.
Inspired by the establishment’s emblematic Art Deco style and the colours of the Côte d’Azur, interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon has brought this Green Globe-certified luxury hotel in Cannes back to life.
Skal is an international organization of tourism professionals whose aim is to conduct projects of excellence and support eco-compatible tourism.
The name, a symbol of the friendship that binds all its members and which is expressed in the Scandinavian toast, is an acronym of the words Sundhet (Health), Karlek (Friendship), Alder (Long life) and Lycka (Happiness), values on which the Skal movement is based.
Today, Skal International is present in 86 countries, with 311 clubs and over 13,000 members.
Skal Côte d’Azur is the world’s leading club, with 233 members in the Alpes-Maritimes region, and is a unique platform for bringing together professionals in the hotel, restaurant and related sectors (suppliers and service providers).
Its motto: “Doing business among friends”.
