Royal Caribbean has announced that its trade competition, the Royal Pitch, is 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 business concepts from 20 travel agents over the course of the last year.

For the next 12 months, Royal Caribbean will be upping the investment prize pot to up to £300,000 across four rounds of pitching.

The judging panel will consist of entrepreneur Levi Roots and Royal Caribbean vice-president of Europe, the Middle East and Africa Ben Bouldin, and the line’s director of sales for UK, Ireland and Spain Stuart Byron.

Following the same format as the original competition, the extended Royal Pitch will see finalists present their proposals to the judges.

There will be four opportunities to enter over the next 12 months, with the first round open for entries in early April.

The first day of in-person pitching and judging will take place on 26 June, at Royal Caribbean’s headquarters in Weybridge, Surrey, with three further rounds of entries and live events taking place before March 2024.

Pitch and win with Royal Caribbean

To send in their ideas, travel agents will need to submit a video via the Club Royal website that details their proposal and requested investment in under five minutes.

At the live final events, the judges will then determine what shortlisted ideas win a share of the total prize.

Byron said: “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.”

Roots added: “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.”