Corporate Incentive Travel: What’s wrong with this picture?
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This post is by Anne Thornley-Brown, President, Executive Oasis International, specialists in incentive travel, sales rallies and sales incentive trips. Meet the rest of the team!
Why fly your team halfway across the world just to lie on the beach and get drunk at the bar? You can do that at home. Transform your sales incentive trips into a rich and memorable experience by providing a glimpse into the local history and culture of your incentive travel destinations.
Photo by Executive Oasis International
Question: Where are you? (Hint: This is not a trick question.)
Day 1: The members of your team arrive in the evening from various countries. They are immediately whisked to a 5 star beach resort. You have a brief orientation to set the stage for your incentive. Some people head for the beach. Others head over to the bar. You meet for dinner. The menu consists of western cuisine. After dinner, some head over to the resort’s discotheque. Others return to the bar and eventually head back to their rooms drunk. Some stragglers arrive just in time to go to bed.
Day 2: Some people spend more time on the beach. Others play golf, go shopping or opt for spa treatments. That night, you have a lavish awards banquet with a gourmet western menu.
Day 3: Early the next morning, people head for the airport and fly home.
Answer: You could be just about anywhere
So, What was the point?
I have often wondered what is the point in blowing ones budget to fly executives and sales professionals halfway across the world and give them little or no exposure to the local people, culture, history, or business practices. The company could have created the same experience, at a fraction of a cost, by staying at a lakeside or beach resort close to home. In fact, in these tough economic times if that is all a company wants to achieve with a sales incentive trip, staying closer to home may be the best option. You’ll help boost the local economy and give shareholders and company owners a higher return on investment with the money you save.
