Destinations

The other key supply-side elements in the incentive market are the destinations that are used for trips of this kind. Clearly, there are considerable benefits to cities and countries chosen as destinations for this form of business-related travel. On a per capita basis, incentive travel almost certainly provides the greatest spending levels of all forms of business travel, with the concomitant economic benefits for suppli­ers. But destinations' images are also enhanced when the experience of incentive groups is a wholly positive one. Elliott (1997) emphasises this point, with the exam­ple of Australia as a destination: 'If an incentive or other programme is successful, it can have favourable repercussions, as when the President of the lingerie company Charle Corporation, Mr Masaharu Hayashi, endorsed Australia as a first-class destination to his corporate peers, following an incentive visit of 4,500 Japanese saleswomen to Sydney in 1992, spending A$10 million.'

So which destinations most successfully attract incentive events? O'Bricn (1997h) confirms that the USA and Europe remain the key geographic destinations for incentive travel programmes, although the Far East and Australia, Eastern Europe and the Caribbean are becoming increasingly popular incentive destinations:

With its geographical variety, rich supply of heritage and cultural resources, as well as its relatively high levels of security, the importance of Europe as a destination for incentive trips is generally acknowledged. Not only is it the main destination for incentives organised for European companies, but it has, since the 1960s, also been the primary international destination for US incentive groups.

A number of European countries are widely used as destinations by the US incen­tive market, although, as the research undertaken by the Menlo Consulting Group indicates (MCG, 1999), Europe tends to he reserved for experienced winners, who are most likely to have won other trips closer to home in the past.

For the outbound US incentive market, the same research showed that although Europe is important as an overseas destination, short-haul destinations dominate the international incentive market. The sun and sand destinations perform particu­larly well in this segment: 44.2% of incentive travellers visited the Caribbean, Bermuda or Hawaii on their most recent international incentive trip. Although technically a domestic destination, Hawaii represents an offshore oasis to many Americans and has a similar appeal to that of the Caribbean islands for incentive planners. One in five incentive travellers visited nearby Canada, Alaska or Mexico on their last incentive trip (MCG, 1999; p.20). Table 4.1 indicates the most popu­lar overseas destinations for US incentive trips.

Nevertheless, despite the fact that one in four US outbound incentive programmes has Europe as its destination, the use of Europe as a destination for incentive trips by the US market has developed along quite different lines to its use by European companies. Consequently, the characteristics of the American incentive market for Europe differ considerably from the characteristics of the intra-European market for incentive travel.

Table 3. European and US incentives in Europe

European market	US market
Companies organise several incentive trips per year, with smaller groups Higher work input: seminars, workshops, etc. Shorter lead times More adventurous, lesser-known destinations and activities Average four nights; more likely to be over a weekend Lower budget per participant: ihree- and four-star hotels Emphasis on activities and ground programme DMCs play a more limited role in organising	Companies organise one or two larger trips per year Minimum work input: mainly a leisure experience Longer lead times Standard international destinations: capitals known to Americans Average seven nights Higher budget: four- and five-star hotels Emphasis on quality of accommodation DMCs play a fuller role

Source. Based on O'Brien. K. (1997b|. 'The incentive travel market to the UK and Ireland', in Insights, September, published by the English Tourism Council (Tel: [phone]).

Clearly, some of these differences may be explained through the cultural distinc­tions that exist between the two markets. For example, Americans, particularly if they are relatively unfamiliar with Europe, are most likely to be motivated by the opportunity to visit capital cities with attractive images, such as London, Paris and Rome. But since many European award winners are already well-travel led within the continent as a whole, they are likely to be attracted to more unusual destin­ations offering the opportunity to engage in new activities, e.g. a jeep safari in Cyprus or ice-fishing in Lapland.

Other contrasts between the US and the domestic use of Europe as an incentive destination are due to geographical factors. The US market makes more use of DMCs, for example, because, being remoter from Europe itself, Americans are more dependent on intermediaries on the spot to research and organise the details of the programme. Similarly, since they spend more time travelling in order to reach Europe than native Europeans do, their trips are, on average, longer. For Europeans themselves, short two- or three-day incentives in their own continent are perfectly feasible.

For the European domestic and outbound market, the debate among incentive travel organisers tends to revolve around the long-haul/short-haul destination deci­sion. Some agencies believe that even the most impressive short-haul programmes lack the impact and motivating factor of unusual and exotic long-haul destinations. Overfamiliarity with European cities is one hurdle to overcome. If such destinations are to be chosen as places in which to hold incentives, then they must demonstrate that they can be as effective at motivating staff as long-haul destinations are.

However, there are many in the industry who do not agree that further is necessar­ily better. In the report of an industry forum held to discuss this issue, Doyle (2001; p.21) quotes one incentive organiser: 'We get a lot of calls from people saying that the last thing they want to do on an incentive is get on a plane for seven or eight hours, because they do that all the time with their job. You can organise short-haul incen­tives that will get people talking just as much as long-haul.' Another contributor to the same forum introduced a new variant on the debate: the 'short long-haul trip'. 'Places like Dubai, for instance, are really coming into their own. They're not too far to get to and you can pack a lot into just three or four nights. You always have [airline] seats available, and there are enough carriers to get people there.'

Whether long-haul, short-haul or domestic, however, the difficulty for all destin­ations active in this market is that, of all forms of business travel, it is generally agreed that incentive travel is the most fickle. Novelty and fashion are major factors in the destination decision-making process, and today's hot new place to send incentive groups can be tomorrow's tired cliche.

But, above all, to be effective, the destination must succeed in motivating those who are competing to win the travel award. A basic requirement is that the destination should be perceived as being safe and politically stable. Any hint of danger or political volatility can disqualify an incentive destination overnight. As the authors of the BTF report point out, anticipating with some accuracy the impacts of the events of September 11 (BTF & BTAC, 1999; p.21): 'Incentive travel is most susceptible, however, to geo-political problems. War or an escalation of terrorist acts could easily wipe out the segment in a particular year, and it is not as resilient as other business tourism sectors - the incentive travel programme can take anything up to 18 months to build up again after the perceived danger disappears.'

Chapter 4. MICE events: planning

On completion of this chapter students should:

- describe the process involved in organizing of a venue

The business travel industry is based upon events of different kinds (including conventions and congresses, meetings, seminars, product launches, management retreats, exhibitions, fairs etc.) and of different sizes and durations, requiring sophisticated planning and administration to ensure their success. Events are organized by people with varying degrees of knowledge and experience, many finding themselves responsible for organizing a venue without much, if any, formal training.

Summarizing the main processes involved in planning and staging an event in particular it necessary to look at:

a general introduction to conference organizing

• pre-conference planning and research

• budgeting and financial management

• sourcing and selecting a venue

• negotiating with venues

• programme planning

• event marketing

• conference management and production, and supporting technologies

• event evaluation.

The organization of an event requires a similar strategic approach to that needed for planning and managing most other events. Clear objectives should be set from the beginning, a bud­get has to be established, a venue must be sourced and delegates' accommodation and travel arrangements made, a programme has to be prepared and the business activity managed for its duration. Increasingly, health and safety, security, venue contracts and service guarantees are among a number of other aspects need­ing serious consideration, but there is not space to cover these adequately here. Then, after the conference is over, final admin­istrative details have to be completed and some evaluation of the business activity should take place. While there are different factors to take into account when organizing a business activity for 500 delegates rather than one for 50, the essential components are the same.

Similar steps are required for the organization of any other events, such as sporting events, concerts, celebrations and ral­lies, whether these are of national or international significance like the football World Cup Finals or the Olympic Games, or of more localised importance, such as an antiques fair or agricultural show.

Organizing conferences, for example, is a high-pressure activity, not recom­mended for those of a nervous disposition. Yet, well handled, it can be tremendously exhilarating and rewarding. It goes without saying that excellent organizational skills are a must, as are atten­tion to detail and a willingness to work long and often irregular hours, especially in the immediate build-up period and during the event itself.

Any business activity needs to be planned with the precision of a military operation. Indeed, it is not surprising that a number of those now working successfully as conference organizers have come from a military background.

But, in addition to hard work and attention to detail, venues need a creativity and flair to be brought to them, which will make them memorable occasions. They should live long in the memories of delegates, not only because of the benefits accruing from what has been shared and learned during the formal pro­gramme, but also for the opportunities they provide for informal networking and doing business, as well as socialising.

In some cases, companies and organizations will already have systems in place when the event is, for example, an annual event which runs along similar lines year after year. In other cases, it may be an entirely new event for which no previous orga­nizational history or tradition exists. Both scenarios have their advantages and disadvantages:

• The regularly-held venues may operate smoothly with just some fine tuning and updating to established systems and pro­cedures. It might, however, be failing to achieve its real poten­tial as, for example, a conference, having become staid and predictable, and it may be that a completely fresh approach would be benefi­cial. The challenge for a new organizer will be to revolutionise the organization of the venue without alienating too many of the staff or members (if it is a membership organization) associated with the previous regime

• Where there is no previous event history, an organizer has the benefit of beginning with a clean sheet of paper. There are no set ways of doing things, no established contacts, no 'venues that we always use'. There is a freedom to bring some­thing of his own identity to the event, to build up his own network of information and suppliers, and to ensure that the event management systems are put in place to his own design. But such freedom brings with it a responsibility which can appear daunting if the organizer has been thrust into the role of running a business activity with minimal training and experience.

Exercise

Study the information given in Appendixes and work out your business event.