By Linda F. Jarrett
Business America is on the move again. To Las Vegas. To London. To San Diego. To France.
The terrorist attacks of September 11 had an immediate and continuing effect on travel, both national and international. Security concerns and a dwindling economy caused many companies to stay within the United States borders for their business and incentive travel needs.
However, with a self-sustaining economy and consumer confidence returning, people are taking to the air in numbers approaching pre-9/11 levels. Business and incentive trips are branching outside the continental United States with its Caribbean and southern hemisphere neighbors, and returning to popular destinations abroad such as England, France and Italy.
Maritz Travel, specialist in incentive, business and event planning, has seen a bump in their travel numbers overall.
Alicia Feito, vice president of Industry Relations at Maritz, says that while some individuals still feel uncomfortable, international travel, as a whole, is returning. “We have seen a great increase in the international destinations that we are proposing to our customers, at their request, and people are ready to move on.”
She says that travel within the United States, the Caribbean, and Mexico increased over the past two years. “The Caribbean and Mexico especially appealed to travelers because they did not have to step too far out of the U.S. But, as of late, we have seen more activity in Europe and Asia.”
Whether the travel is for a business meeting or an incentive program, the destinations are, generally, the same.
“What we are definitely seeing is that there used to be a pretty definitive line between incentive travel or business meetings,” Feito says. “Now we are seeing that line fade a bit, in that many of our customers are combining the two, and with the incentive program, they are putting in business content.”
For an incentive trip, however, since it usually includes the whole family, destinations need to be appealing to all; plus it has to be attractive enough to establish the objective.
“That,” Feito says, “would include the upper or higher scale hotels. When offering an incentive trip, you want to offer a destination that’s going to be appealing, and will encourage the individual to meet the qualifications of the program.”
While business meetings are held world wide, in most cases they focus in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean.
“Generally speaking,” Feito says, “about 75 percent of our business meetings take place in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, and sometimes on cruises, which have continued to gain in popularity. Many of the new ships coming out are developed to support the business meeting market, so they have that function on board.”
Feito recently completed an analysis of travel trends, including Maritz’s most frequented destinations in the past three years.
United States
“Our number one, historically for the last four years has been Las Vegas,” Feito says. “For both incentive and business meetings. This is because there have been ongoing major additions to major hotels, as well as new builds. Vegas also appeals to a broad number of clients, for both business and incentive.”
The appeal of Las Vegas includes a varied hotel selection, great shows and nightclub acts, wonderful shopping, activities and restaurants, plus a good climate.
Maritz’s selection of hotels includes MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, Bellagio and The Venetian, all popular and all on the high end of the appeal scale.
Richard Harper, vice president of sales at the MGM Grand Hotel, says, “We have always prided ourselves on being the best of the best, and it boils down to relationship and flexibility with our customers. We do what they ask us to do. You’re really hard-pressed to get a ‘no’ out of us.”
MGM grand built a $100 million conference center in 1998 that put them in the top level for business meetings. They created a “world class spa facility,” plus revitalized their restaurants. Then there is Cirque De Soleil for fabulous entertainment.
“Now, “ Harper says, “we’re importing people into our restaurants instead of exporting.”
The West Coast, Southwest and Southeast, with their inviting climates, attract many conferences and incentive travel recipients.
Excellent golf opportunities tempt many, and the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in Scottsdale, Ariz., with its golf course set in the desert, among cacti attracts many groups.
Carol Vail, director of sales and marketing, said the hotel can offer incentive groups and conference attendees a variety of activities ranging from “world class golf,” to rodeos, to team building sports.
“We opened our $16 million Willow Stream Spa two years ago,” she says. “Besides 27 treatment rooms, a roof top pool and
classes, we recreated the Grand Canyon Havasupai Falls, where guests can sit at the end of the day.”
In Orlando, Fla., the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center not only has the enticement of Disney World, but offers the largest amount of convention space, 400,000 square feet, in Florida.
 The Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center offers excellent golf opportunities. |
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Mike Mason, vice president of sales and marketing, says, “We have built a hotel that is all things to one customer, and that’s the group customer, whether business or incentive. A lot companies don’t want the distraction of theme parks at their doorstep, especially when you’re doing meetings. On the incentive side, it’s the opposite; you want them to have fun while they’re down here, so location to the theme parks is critical. We are off Disney property so you don’t have the distraction of theme parks in your back yard, but we are only one-half mile from Disney and six miles from Universal, so we have easy access and free transportation.”
“The Caribbean and Mexico especially appealed to travelers because they did not have to step too far out of the U.S. But, as of late, we have seen more activity in Europe and Asia.”
- Alicia Feito, vice president of
Industry Relations, Maritz
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Feito says, “San Francisco, San Diego, and New York also support incentive and business meetings, and we don’t want to neglect Hawaii. If you look at all the islands, they were number two for us last year. Overall it’s down compared to the peak years of the late 90s, but it continues to stay strong as one of our top incentive destinations.”
Mexico, Caribbean
“Mexico, Cancun and Los Cabos are hot destinations right now, and they’re popular because our customers are looking for more tropical locales and all inclusive resorts. Both these places support that very well.”
Cancun boasts two AAA Five Diamond hotels with the Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach and the Ritz-Carlton, Cancun.
Los Cabos is a natural for sports and adventure with, golf, horseback riding, jeep tours, and world class fishing, snorkeling and sailing.
“Paradise Island rounds out a top spot in the Caribbean,” Feito said. “The Atlantis is an
over-the-top experience-with multiple water features, a casino, spa, putt putt golf, and a large beach. It’s great for incentive travel, and also business.”
Europe
Feito says that when planning a business meeting, she takes into account the participant base. “Maritz is a global company and we have offices world wide. If the majority of the people live in the west, that’s where we will focus. But if they have many customers in London, that’s where we’ll focus.”
With opportunities for both a country and city experience, London is one of the top places for incentive and business travel. A truly cosmopolitan city, London offers top theater experiences, shopping, sightseeing, dining and top-notch hotels, such as The Grosvenor House and The Dorchester.
“Italy continues to be a hot spot,” Feito says. “It offers a dual city and country experience, and has a plethora of fantastic hotels, a wonderful culture and, of course, the food.”
While it has fallen out of favor with some, France continues to be a popular place, with its beautiful architecture, scenery, culture and food, not to mention the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and Notre Dame
“It died down for a little while,” Feito says, “but it’s back on the radar.”
Asia
Following the SARS scare, Asia is now experiencing a resurgence as a travel
destination.
“China is coming alive again,” Feito says. “There’s renewed interest in China. It’s mysterious and just recently opened to incentive groups. Beijing and Shanghai are very unique cities, in that Beijing offers the old world with its Forbidden City, Palace of
the People, Tianamen Square, etc., while Shanghai is very western with very tall
buildings. It also has a touch of the old world with it’s gardens and tea houses.”
She adds that Australia maintains a lead as a top destination in the Pacific Rim region. “It has friendly people, English is spoken, Sydney is beautiful and many people want to visit the Great Barrier Reef”
Central America is coming on strong as a destination, with Costa Rica, in particular, leading the way.
“Costa Rica is fabulous with its tropical rainforest and eco-type activities,” Feito says. They offer fun and sun with a multitude of properties to support many budgets, from high level exclusive to medium range. It has really grown in the past couple of years.
So, the flying public has returned and life is good! |
