Incentive - January 2008 - (Page 10)

IN THE NEWS launch a hosted buyer program. That’s how buyers expect to do business now,” he adds. “If they do not launch [a hosted buyer program], it could be a threat.” One last piece of show news: The CIBTM show in China has been canceled for 2008 to avoid a conflict with the August Olympic Games, which made the logistics very difficult. CIBTM will return in 2009 with a new date and venue: September 8-10 in the brand-new China National Convention Centre in Beijing. United Kingdom says that its small, highend corporate clients have reacted very positively to reports that quantify the meetings’ trickle-down impact on local economies, farmers and social programs. Destination Dubai In the past year, a number of incentive travel planners have told Incentive that Dubai would be the next big destination for American groups. Judging by the size and placement of the United Arab Emirates member-state’s booth at EIBTM—front and center by the entrance—its interest to European clients remains strong. But as for the U.S., the answer is, largely, not yet. “We are all waiting for it to happen,” says Manu Mehrotra, general manager of Passage to Arabia, a Dubai destination management company. He believes this is in part due to a shortage of hotel space—although booming construction should help, he says—and the fact that the emirate hasn’t marketed itself all that much in the U.S. “Awareness of Dubai is growing,” he says. “In the coming few years you will see Dubai more in the U.S., at road shows, at exhibitions.” Which isn’t to say Dubai has had no incentive business from the U.S. The Raffles Dubai, which opened in mid-October, has already booked two small American groups, one with 40 participants from Chicago, another with 20 from Houston, says Hitesh Mayor, the property’s director of sales. Kerzner International’s 1,500-room Atlantis, The Palm, which will open in autumn 2008 on Dubai’s The Palm Jumeirah, a man-made, palm tree-shaped island on Dubai’s coast, expects to attract business from the U.S., says Henriette Attard, director, group and incentive sales, UK, for Atlantis and the company’s sister property in Dubai, the One & Only Royal Mirage. “We are getting growing business from the U.S. as awareness of Dubai is growing,” she says. “Americans know Atlantis, they know Kerzner.” s Crowds were in evidence at the EIBTM show in Barcelona Corporate Social Responsibility One topic that came up again and again at EIBTM was corporate social responsibility. Specifically, the growing business need to demonstrate a corporate commitment to the environment. Sustainable development was one of the two main subjects of conversation at the show’s CEO Summit, along with the ever-present retention issue. And, it was also a topic of conversation on the show floor. “Green is the biggest trend,” says Julie Hedlund, U.S. Midwestern region sales manager for The Leading Hotels of the participating in the AIBTM. Renk notes that while hosted-buyer shows are doing well—“When you can identify the buyer, that is probably the preferable model,” she says—non-hosted shows like IT&ME are also necessary. This is because the incentive industry has not identified all the potential American corporate buyers, she says. Research bears Renk out on this point: The latest Incentive Federation Market Size study, shows the industry has only reached a third of potential corporate buyers. “When we bid for meetings, [our green policy] is one of the first things we are asked about.” –Julie Hedlund, The Leading Hotels of the World “Host buyer status goes to identified buyers,” Renk says. “But I still think we need shows that [reach out] to the target market more generally,” to attract new buyers. One industry expert who doesn’t see it that way is Bill Boyd, president and CEO of Sunbelt Motivation and Travel in Irving, Texas, and a past president of the Society of Incentive & Travel Executives (SITE). Noting that a rising tide lifts all boats, Boyd thinks “IT&ME can’t suffer from EIBTM coming to Miami, but they need to World, which just launched a green initiative. “People are asking about it. When we call corporate travel managers, they want to know about our green policy and then they decide whether they are going to work with us. When we bid for meetings, it is one of the first things we are asked about.” But corporate social responsibility is about more than just the environment. Joanna Goddard, director of Estate-Life, a collection of privately owned, closed-to-thepublic manor homes and castles in the 10 | Incentive | January 2008 | incentivemag.com http://incentivemag.com

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Incentive - January 2008 Contents Editor’s Note: Out of SITE In The News Cover Story: Include a Meeting, Improve Morale Case Study: DHL Delivers Recognition Incentive Primer: How To Use Promo Products How Bob Nardelli Rallied Chrysler’s Dealers Incentive Interview: Ken Blanchard Says Be Nice TV’s Extreme Makeover Motivates Giving Pre-Employment Motivation The Daycare Dilemma Happy Employees Shouldn’t Mix with Sick Employees Incentive Research: Consumer Promotions Report In Her Shoes: Winning Approval Of Flextime Travel News Field Report: Barcelona Field Report: Bermuda Golf: Follow The Pros potentials Here and Now Watches As Jewelry Awards: Online Gift Cards Tech Gadgets for 2008 Last Word: Stanley Bing Bashes Bully Bosses

Incentive - January 2008

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