Incentive - December 2008 - (Page 33) TRAVEL News Israel Targets Incentive Travel Industry BY ALEXANDRA HAAKE more sensitive and the first to s U.S. tourism to Israel reaches its react when issues relating highest levels ever, the Israeli Minto security arise, it also istry of Tourism is turning to the follows trends in the incentive travel industry. The ministry asked broader leisure travel New York–based Bodden Partners, which market. And recordhas carried out the ministry’s marketing for breaking tourism from the last 18 years, to head its latest initiative. Bodden CMO Marty Mitchell, says his agency noted that the incentive travel industry is changing, as companies are “demanding of their incentive travel planners that they find places that enrich people’s lives and improve them, rather than just sending them to a beach—and green is in,” says Mitchell. Israel is known for pioneering clean technologies, beginning with the drip irrigation system that lets it farm the desert without wasting huge amounts of water. From a planning perspective, the things that attract the incentive market are the same as general tourism. Although incentive travel tends to be Strolling through Old Jerusalem is like walking through the pages of history A the U.S. suggests the time may be ripe for incentive travel in Israel, the ministry hopes. The country’s rich culture and history offer general tourists and incentive travelers something to take away, regardless of their religion or cultural ties, Mitchell emphasizes. “It doesn’t matter what their religion is, they are going to enjoy at least seeing places mentioned in the gospels or that they heard in church or school.” While the ministry of tourism suggests that travelers not go to Gaza, Mitchell says that most are not concerned about the security issues. “People who go there really come back feeling good about having taken the trip, and it isn’t just religious. They come back with a wonderful feeling about the country and what they have just seen.” continued on page 32 reducing the number of qualifiers, running shorter programs and holding them closer to home, Ruege says. He adds that individual incentive travel or shopping sprees are good ways to deal with public perception. Wright, who is also chairman of Buffalo, N.Y.–based Merchants Mutual Insurance (which does not run incentive travel programs), points out: “AIG desperately needed 100 of its best producers in one room [so it could] say, ‘This is the situation, this is what we need from you.’ If I were in AIG’s shoes and had an opportunity to get in front of 100 of my top-producing agents to reassure them of our future, I would do so in a heartbeat—and at the reported cost.” The value of these trips is in the relationships they help build, he adds. “In this business, that is everything. As a producer, would I put business with a company because they offer a trip? Probably not.” Nor would he stop trusting a company that canceled a trip in this environment. “But,” he says, “the relationship fades.” Armitage does not believe all insurance companies will jump on the bandwagon and cancel incentive programs. At the same time, he expects to see fewer programs in the next couple of years. “Insurance is a very competitive industry,” he says, adding that one quarter of the incentive travel programs he’s aware of have been canceled in the past two years for financial reasons. “When you have the pressure of the last couple of years to cut costs, and add bad press, incentives will be a pretty easy line in the budget to cut.” Wright’s view is that over the long term, little will change. “These programs come and go,” he says. “They tend to fade in down markets, but producers know they will be re-introduced.” incentivemag.com | December 2008 | Incentive | 33 http://www.incentivemag.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.