MONTREAL — Club Med’s 75th anniversary was celebrated in style this week in Montreal. The event was chic, understated and dazzling, just like Club Med itself.

“I look at you and you all look really beautiful, all dressed in white, it really fits in with the spirit of Club Med’s theme nights,” said Carolyne Doyon, President and CEO of Club Med North America and the Caribbean.

Having flown in specially from Miami to Montreal for the occasion – and, one can imagine, to continue Club Med’s talks in Tremblant – Doyon was all smiles in front of the 100 or so guests at the Club Med gala, including executives from many of Club Med’s highest-producing travel agency partners, and tour operators.

The evening began with a cocktail reception in the garden of La Toundra at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, right next to the Formula 1 track, as if to remind everyone that Club Med has been going full throttle in recent years. Or maybe because Club Med always has a knack for choosing unique locations, whether to open a village or hold an event: the view of Montreal from La Toundra was magnificent.

Then, the white cloud of guests sat down, a glass of white wine in hand, to attend a presentation where the history of the company was retraced, from yesterday to today.

FROM NPO TO MULTINATIONAL

After recalling the modest origins of Club Med, “a non-profit organization … which, as you may have noticed, has changed a lot since 1950,” Doyon went through the Club’s main milestones one by one – without a single memory gap.

Carolyne Doyon, President and CEO of Club Med North America and the Caribbean, takes guests through Club Med’s 75 years

She highlighted the inauguration of the first ski village in Leysin, Switzerland (1957), the creation of the buffet (1965), the beginnings of the mini-club (1967) and the largest sports academy in the world (1970).

Then, six years before the arrival of the Chinese giant Fosun as a minority shareholder (and majority since 2015), Club Med took a major step forward. “In 2004, we made a complete change: the upscale repositioning of Club Med, which was completed in April 2024,” said Doyon. “Now, all our resorts are at least four stars or, at best, Exclusive Collection.”

After the first village of this category opened in 2007 in Albion, Mauritius, the 2019 opening of Club Med Michès Playa Esmeralda, in the D.R., marked the arrival of the Exclusive Collection in North America. “Since then, it has become our flagship on the continent,” said Vincent Giraud, GM of Club Med Canada and Commercial Operations in North America. It was at this resort that Club Med chose to launch its 75th anniversary celebrations last spring.

Carolyne Doyon and Vincent Giraud at Club Med Michès (this photo and gala photos courtesy Gary Lawrence)

Meanwhile, the first Club Med village to open in Canada – and the first mountain village in North America – was inaugurated at the bottom of the slopes of the Le Massif ski resort, in Charlevoix, in 2021. “The success of this resort makes us all the more proud that it was inaugurated in the middle of a pandemic,” Doyon was quick to point out.

In fact, Club Med Charlevoix’s performance is such that it has paved the way for the development of a second mountain village in Quebec, in Tremblant. “It’s still a project, but we’re making progress,” said Doyon, hinting that more updates may be coming by the end of the year.

Credit: Annie Fafard, Club Med

While Club Med has always had a very loyal clientele in Quebec, on a national scale Canada is also very promising for the group.

“It’s now Club Med’s third-largest market in the world, and Michès’s top source country,” said Giraud. “And of all the Canadians who ski in the Alps, half come to do so at one of the 15 Club Meds,” added Jacinda Lowry, Club Med’s Associate VP Sales for Canada.

WORK FOR PLEASURE

Surrounded by all the fine dining, countless activities, stunning locations and ultra-comfortable rooms, some people do come to Club Med to work, and that’s fuelled the company’s strong MICE division.

Nathan Scarazzati, Regional Sales Director for Quebec, highlighted the full potential of Club Med’s rapidly expanding MICE division. It’s based on five pillars: a dedicated and friendly team, exceptional meeting venues, a controlled budget that provides peace of mind, tailor-made services, and creative group activities.

Nathan Scarazzati, Regional Sales Director for Quebec, highlighted the full potential of Club Med’s rapidly expanding MICE division

“Club Med’s corporate groups have experienced 100% growth, the strongest growth for our groups,” said Scarazzati.

“Recently, the leaders of a company that stayed at Club Med Charlevoix told me: ‘We came for work and ultimately, we felt like we were on vacation.’ Nothing makes me happier, because that’s precisely the spirit and the Club Med experience, in meetings and events.”

PROJECTS IN PROGRESS

Here’s a look at what‘s new and upcoming for Club Med …

• In 2024 Club Med Cancun got a makeover, with major renovations including a new water park, multi-sport fields, a circus school, yoga palapas and, of course, pickleball courts, the new trend in sports.
• In less than two weeks, Club Med Punta Cana will reopen to full capacity after $35 million in renovations that will put the fire that ravaged it last fall behind them. The village will feature a brand new concept, El Mundo Food Club, Club Med’s first gourmet market featuring five distinct culinary universes. The revamped village will also feature the Buena Vista Lounge, a redesigned reception area; a space where a multitude of coffees and sweet treats will be offered; as well as new rooms called Costa del Coco. A new space dedicated to weddings is said to be spectacular.

Club Med Punta Cana

• On July 4, 2026, Club Med will offer its very first safaris in its new Club Med South Africa Beach & Safari – located on a preserved strip of land bordering the Indian Ocean, but in the heart of a wildlife reserve. “It will be completely different from anything we’ve done before, halfway between wildlife observation and surfing,” says the team. Bookings for Club Med Gold and Platinum guests will open on Oct. 13.
• Also in 2026, Club Med Borneo in Malaysia will be inaugurated, before being followed by another village in Brazil (Gramado), while in 2028, it will be the turn of the village of San Sicario, in Italy, to open its doors. Other projects are underway for Oman, Benin, Essaouira, Lingshui, North Sulawesi and more. All of these new villages bear the Green Globe seal, a world-renowned environmental certification.

Looks like we’ll hear a lot more about Club Med in the coming years. “Our ambition is nothing less than to become the leading lifestyle /art de vivre brand in the world,” said Doyon. Judging by her team’s progress, they’ll get there: it’s a given.

For more information about Club Med see ClubMed.ca. This article originally appeared at ProfessionVoyages.com, part of The Travelweek Group.