Incentive - September 2011

Annual Industry th Roundtable10

South African Tourism’s Laura Saeger (far left) says five-star trips are back; Carlson’s Fay Beauchine sees group travel bouncing back; Incentive Executive Editor Leo Jakobson

with any of the customers that we’ve been working with. We’ve seen it as a supplement to group travel platforms that they already have in place, or for running a short-term incentive program to motivate sales of a certain product line.

TRAVEL

INCENTIVE: Is luxury travel coming back? Are companies willing to be seen in luxury destinations and hotels?

Pavony: Four Seasons’ traditional customer is back in the group segment. I think some of our clients tried other brands and found that that did not quite bring the results that they wanted. For 2012 and ’ 13 we see a significant increase in our incentive business. It’s refreshing to see a heightened demand on space.

INCENTIVE: Are clients still staying closer to home or returning to long haul?

Beauchine: China and South Africa are up there in the top 10. People really want to go to these places. The other thing is when the automotive companies came back, they skipped domestic and went right to international.

Herod: Brazil, Argentina. Costa Rica is on our top international list.

Pavony: I agree, Costa Rica and Buenos Aires
are very popular. In addition, we’re already
starting to see greater interest from our clients
who want to go back to Bali, to China, to Thai-
land. Eastern Europe is popular. Prague was
very hot five years ago, and is back in demand.

Schuldt: China is still at the head of the pack. Asian destinations are three out of the top four, and Dubai was the fourth. I did a poll of some of my DMCs and, interestingly enough, North America is the slowest in recovery for incentives into Asia.

Saeger: I would say that, all in all, we’re definitely seeing a recovery. We’re seeing an increase in RFPs. We’re seeing an increase in the number of people who are willing to consider a longer haul destination. South African Tourism’s research at the end of February showed a 27 percent increase in travel overseas, which is the biggest reported since 2007. We have a very strong base in automotive and financial programs this year, so South Africa is very optimistic about the incentive market, especially out of the United States.

INCENTIVE: How’s Las Vegas doing?

Goldy: We’re seeing a steady recovery. Lead volume is up, business is up. The perception is changing. Financial groups are coming. Pharmaceuticals are coming. We’re excited about the momentum, and we’ve virtually seen no cancellations right now.

INCENTIVE: After Hurricane Katrina there
was a lot of effort to take programs to New
Orleans. Will the same thing happen for Japan?

Beauchine: I don’t think that a lot of incentive groups will go until the nuclear situation is cleared up there, but meetings with pharmaceutical companies are happening there because you have to sell drugs in Japan. That’s another country that I think this industry really wants to support and get behind.

INCENTIVE: We’ve seen a lot of cutting around the edges in the past few years in terms of room gifts, F&B, and golf and spa. Are those coming back?

Herod: I think golf and spa have come back. It’s the room gifts. It’s the top-name entertainers. It’s those kinds of things that they cut out, not the luxury day-to-day things that make them very happy.

Pavony: We’ve seen a little more free time incorporated into programs and an effort to cut costs. We are also seeing more of the budget placed into the food and beverage events to elevate the culinary experience. With the growing popularity of Top Chef and Food Network, more people are becoming engaged in food, wines, and preparation. There are high expectations for the culinary experience. ■