MICE TALK: Huw Tuckett (Site and COO of Uwin Iwin International) "The I
in MICE"
·
USA spent 240 billion p/a on travel
incentives
·
Created 24 million jobs in the US
·
ROI @ 4.1
·
Average incentive traveller has 11
times more disposable income than any other traveller
·
DXB hosted an incentive of 15000
pax, injecting 80 million USD into the economy.
Common frustrations and challenges:
1.
Tenders – pharmaceutical companies
most guilty approaching 9 agents for 4 destination each
2.
Procurement – ridiculous rules…
3.
Budgets - so restrictive and
hard to work with
Ask more questions:
1.
Are spouses travelling?
2.
Will there be a meeting component?
3.
What are the objectives?
Types of incentives:
1.
Cash
2.
Bonuses and salary increases
3.
Vouchers – powerful (power of
choice)
4.
Merchandise
5.
Travel – very powerful if managed
well & meets the high expectation of the winner
6.
Time off
7.
“fear of management”
8.
Resources to do the job
·
Sales force can be divided into 3
categories
·
20% top performers (travel
incentives work best) self-motivated and always achieve target.
·
70% most vital need to be incentivised & have different levels of engagement
·
10% always looking for a new job,
not worth investment.
Benefits of travel incentives:
1.
Increase loyalty
2.
Networking between colleagues
3.
Delegates feel part of a “select
club”
4.
Time off appreciated by delegate
5.
Sense of camaraderie
6.
Measurable ROI
7.
Halo effect (incentive winners creating hype, motivating others to try achieve
reward)
8.
Delegates become ambassadors
9.
The incentive often ends up paying
for itself
Travel incentive challenges for the planner
1.
ROE
2.
Incentive must provide brag value
3.
Constant fluctuating airport taxes
4.
Restrictive budgets
5.
Tenders
6.
Time out of office is an issue for
management
7.
Lots of planning involved
8.
Its subjective and may not be for
everybody
Incentive Trends:
1.
New Austerity
2.
Short stays (4 nights)
3.
All inclusive so important
4.
Must provide ROI
5.
Value for money
6.
Meeting element for tax break
7.
Mostly economy class – not business
anymore
8.
Regional offices get to dictate
policy
Counter measures
1.
Quote with 24 hours or earlier
2.
Have real flexibility
3.
Value for money
4.
Get silly creative and capture
imagination
5.
Deliver excellent
6.
Travel to emerging market
destinations for less
7.
Ask questions (pure reward, or
conference, spouses attending)
8. Attention to detail