MICE – gateway to a greater bottom line
TECHNOLOGY continues to
have a profound effect on
the travel industry and, as
more consumers go online
for their requirements,
there is a growing focus
in the trade with regard
to increasing the bottom
line by infiltrating the MICE
sector.
This is according to an
extract from the MICE
Academy Trends 2020
report released early this
month. The report aims to
help the industry progress
to higher professional
standards to ensure more
successful event outcomes.
“Previously on the
periphery, the travel industry
continues to become
greater competitors to the
traditional independent
event planners,” states the
report. “The MICE industry
is rapidly evolving into being
perceived as a part – or
stepchild – of the tourism
industry.”
The report suggests
the travel industry alters
the general perception
that the MICE elements
included within travel
and accommodation
requirements are merely
the ‘gateway’ to a greater
bottom line. “Their
attitude needs to have a
360-degree turn in realising
that the MICE component
is the raison d’être for
the traditional travel,
accommodation and ground
arrangement requirements.”
Helen Brewer, joint md
of the MICE Academy,
says with corporate clients
attempting to cut costs, it
makes sense for them to
incorporate event planning
into one with the travel side,
while travel professionals
see the potential of
additional income.
“It’s unlikely that the
majority of corporates
appreciate or indeed
comprehend whether a
travel agency or TMC is
proficient at the planning
tasks. It is equally unclear
whether the travel agencies
fully realise the intricacies
of some tasks,” she says.
It boils down to money
and communication, Helen
adds. “Corporates don’t
check proficiencies and
travel professionals don’t
explain precisely what they
do and don’t do per line
item.”
Events and travel are
related but very different
businesses, agrees Kerith
Hulme, a Travel Counsellor
who specialises in eventing
by working with the Soldiers
Group, an event-staffing
agency.
“The events industry
is dynamic and highly
pressurised, as is travel,
and while the basic
deliverables may seem
similar, I would still say
that for certain events
an experienced events
manager adds serious
value.”
The ultimate prize, she
believes, is when the events
and travel departments
work seamlessly together,
or when the travel manager
has events experience and
vice versa.
“For simple conferencing,
a travel agency with a
MICE division would be
well suited and price points
would satisfy the client. As
the complexity of the event
grows, there is a need for a
dedicated project manager
to work alongside the travel
manager. It comes down to
the detail required on the
event.”
Martine Sanderson,
World Leisure Holidays
group sales manager, says
there is still a lot of cross
pollination in this area. “It
depends on what the travel
agency can bring to the
table in terms of expertise
and experience. If it’s a
straightforward incentive
that does not require huge
technical conferencing and
events planning, it is likely
to be driven through a travel
agency.”
It is not uncommon to see
travel agencies and events
companies working hand in
hand on the same job, says
Martine. “The travel agent
books the accommodation
and air segments whilst
the event management
company plans and runs the
events on site.”
According to Kerith, when
she first started working in
the MICE industry 19 years
ago, there were only a few
major players, and people
knew of one another.
“These days there are
industry bodies, academic
qualifications and decades
of experience that set
agencies apart.”
Book it!
Minor Hotels is promoting a package for meetings or incentive groups at The Royal
Livingstone Hotel by Anantara in Zambia, selling from US$395 (R5 612) single and
$425 (R6 038) double in the low season. Different rates apply for the medium and
high seasons. The nett rate includes accommodation and dinner; group check-in;
private venue hire on the deck or lawns for dinner; access to Victoria Falls; welcome
cocktail reception; 30% savings on selected spa treatments and no porterage or
resort fee. An additional daily conference package of $50pp (R710) covers venue hire
for a boardroom (maximum 12 people) as well as refreshment breaks. The offer is
valid until December 20. Black-out dates apply.
Planning essential to mitigate safety risks to delegates
ESCALATING crime rates
in some of South Africa’s
prime conference and
incentives hotspots have
prompted role players in the
business events industry to
pay more attention to risk
mitigation.
“The more effectively
we can address clients’
concerns, the more MICE
business we will be able to
secure locally,” says Durban
ICC ceo, Lindiwe Rakharebe,
adding that issues related to
safety and security require
an integrated approach from
all stakeholders.
Md of Walthers Destination
Business Solutions
Africa, Daryl Keywood,
agrees, elaborating that
organisations considering
local incentive and
conference programmes
are directly responsible for
participant safety.
“The due diligence and
contracting for an incentive
group is often a thorough
process including risk
assessments, safety audits
and emergency planning.
Prior to embarking on
this process, corporate
clients especially look to a
destination’s safety record.”
Industry has welcomed
the fact that the safety
issues have been directly
addressed by high-level
government tourism and
police ministers, along
with efforts by key public
and private institutions to
consistently work toward
ensuring delegate safety.
“The most effective way
of dealing with any possible
risks is to work as one
united industry to take
on our challenges,” says
Michael Tollman, ceo of
Cullinan Holdings.
He echoes sentiments
shared by the Minister
of Tourism, Mmamoloko
Kubayi-Ngubane, at a
tourism safety media
briefing last year where she
highlighted that while SA
had its share of tourism
safety challenges for the
MICE industry, this was not
unique when considering the
global picture.
Speaking to TNW on the
side lines of the briefing, the
Minister reiterated that all
tourism sectors, including
MICE, would benefit
from the holistic Tourism
Safety Strategy, which was
launched in December last
year.
“With a dedicated
budget of R40m, the
strategy is focused on
a proactive response
rather than a reactive
one. It includes training,
monitoring, victim support
and swift investigation
and prosecution of crimes
perpetrated against
travellers.”
Ceo of the Tourism
Business Council of
South Africa, Tshifhiwa
Tshivhengwa, says this will
give the South African MICE
industry confidence to sell
South Africa as a domestic
group travel destination.
According to Saaci ceo,
Glenton de Kock, industry
players have pooled their
insights and experiences
to help planners better
understand the critical
elements of a riskmanagement policy that is
right for their event as well
as reflecting the current
realities.
He says these plans
are event-specific and
encompass the full
spectrum of the business
events value chain.
“Adopting a proactive
approach that will keep
staff and clients alert
to potential threats that
could compromise the
organisation and/or
outcome of an event is an
area that all South Africans
are now making part of
their daily routines,” says
Glenton.
He says a forward-thinking
approach to not only being
on the lookout for risks,
but to having a plan in
mind should these threats
become realities, ensures
the industry can explore
SA’s off-the-beaten-track
destinations through events
and incentives.
SITE Africa gears up for continental membership drive
Q: What does the rebrand
mean for the association and
its members?
A: It is a very exciting
occasion for Africa as we
are now one inclusive
continental chapter. We had
some resistance in the past
from East and West African
DMCs in terms of joining the
Southern African chapter as
they felt that they did not
belong.
Q: What is your first priority
for 2020?
A: We need to appoint nonSouth African board members,
set up regional steering
committees and write a
comprehensive and practical
strategic plan.
Q: What do you hope to bring
to the continent that you
were unable to achieve as
SITE Southern Africa?
A: Cross pollination. Our
vision is to share skills across
the continent. There is so
much potential just waiting to
be unlocked and the people
of Africa are so motivated.
There are quite a few new and
existing tour operators out
there who want to get their
hands dirty and grow into the
MICE sector.
I am eternally positive about
Africa. Africans are getting
their mojo back and we have
every reason to be proud
of what nations across the
continent are achieving. East
Africa is the Golden Child at
the moment, with so much
positive development. SITE
Africa also hopes to assist in
some small way with regard to
promoting foreign investment
into Africa, as infrastructure
will be required to promote
tourism growth. That said,
one of the SITE Africa pillars
is sustainability, so in spite
of promoting growth, we need
to move forward in every
sustainable way possible.
Q: What will be your biggest
obstacle in trying to achieve
this?
A: Funding, so we need to find
sponsorship from the public
and private sectors to fund
our travels within Africa to
provide training.
Q: What does this change
mean for you as you are still
involved in day-to-day event
management?
A: It is an immense amount
of volunteer work, but it is my
passion to grow MICE tourism
across the continent and to
promote business tourism
into and within Africa. With
the right teams pulling their
weight, this should all be
achievable.
Q: How do you plan
to embark on a new
membership drive?
A: We have amazing contacts
across the continent in the
public and private sectors
who have already stepped
up to the plate. We will be
using the regional steering
committees to help us raise
awareness via their various
tourism associations. We’re
also looking at finding more
media partners, such as
yourselves, to spread the
word and forming alliances
with various tourism boards
and convention bureaus.
Q: How can travel agents
assist?
A: Outside South Africa,
most agencies are travel
agents first and foremost
and are only now carefully
starting to enter the world
of corporate events. These
are the companies SITE is
looking at supporting through
our network and educational
events. It is important for
agencies who want to venture
into being professional
conference organisers, or to
run exhibitions or congresses
etc., that they have the right
set of skills on board. It is
very risky to take on these
kinds of events if they do not
have the right experience.
Providing that sort of training
is part of SITE Africa’s
objectives, but there is a
much bigger picture involved
and this will be explored as
the new 2020 board roll out
their strategy.
Q: What do most travel
agents not know about SITE
in Africa?
A: Incentive travel is a
highly specialised sector
and it is key for agents to
understand the end-client’s
needs, company culture and
objectives in order to deliver
a world-class incentive travel
programme. SITE provides
in-depth training on these
matters through its CIS and
CIPT certifications.
Q: What trend are you most
excited about for 2020?
A: In spite of recent
challenges, South Africa is
still about good news, what
with the Springboks bringing
home the Rugby World
Cup, having our third Miss
Universe, and Cape Town
being selected the numberone tourist destination in the
world! We are super excited
about the new United Airlines
direct flight from New York
to Cape Town and hope our
amazing airlift team at Wesgro
have a few more surprises up
their sleeves.
SITE looks for new African members
SITE is calling on DMCs,
tour operators, travel
agents and PCOs across
Africa to join as SITE Africa
members.
The association, which
is based in Chicago and
the only fully international
association that has a
specific focus on incentive
travel, has more than 2 300
members in 90 countries
with 30 chapters worldwide.
New African members
may join as a Developing
Member at a discounted
rate of US$200 (R2 839)
plus a once-off joining
fee of $50 (R710). This
membership is valid for two
years and runs from January
through to December.
Birchwood prepares for a strong year
THE Birchwood Hotel and
OR Tambo Conference
Centre in Boksburg has
seen recent upgrades and
additions to its already
vast establishment.
According to
spokesperson Greg
Hoffmann, both the
Domestic and International
Centres were closed for
a complete refurbishment
that included modern
audio-visual installations
such as digital signage
screens, high-speed
connectivity with dedicated
SSID and bandwidth
options as well as other
features offering further
convenience to delegates.
The conference venues in
the two buildings comprise
15 conference rooms
that range from smaller
boardrooms to a 164-seat
auditorium as well as
large meeting rooms and
dedicated holding or VIP
rooms.
“We also added a
second option to our
large convention hall, The
Terminal.
“The 3 000 sqm
structure now has a
convenient, slightly smaller
option extremely close,
The Terminal B,” said Greg.
Cruising options elevated in style and innovation
GROUP travellers – particularly
in the MICE sector – are
increasingly appreciating
product offerings that offer
a singular and luxurious
experience and cruising is a
natural choice, according to
Development Promotions (DP).
“Three global cruising
brands are pushing the
traditional boundaries of
group travel by offering
unique on-board experiences,
interesting ports of call and
the type of attention to detail
that is required for dealing
with a group,” says DP
director, Jane Davidson.
One of Croatia’s leading
cruise operators, Katerina
Line, offers boutique cruising
for smaller groups of up to
38 passengers on its fleet of
more than 60 vessels, says
Jane.
“Katarina Line prepares
different round trips, specialinterest programmes,
excursion packages and
various new ideas for groups.”
The French luxury cruise
line, Ponant, which has
elevated itself in both
style and experiential
innovation, according to Jane,
accommodates larger groups
of up to 260 passengers. The
ships can also be chartered
for any type of cruise and
number of nights.
Ponant’s most innovative
product, says Jane, is the
Blue Eye Lounge on four of
the company’s luxury yachts.
“The Blue Eye Lounge is a
multi-sensorial underwater
salon allowing guests to
explore the underwater world
through two windows looking
out on to the sea bed.”
River cruising in Europe
remains popular for MICE
travellers and CroisiEurope’s
vessels offer capacity
for between 16 and 200
passengers, she says.
Destinations on trend for 2020
INCENTIVE and conference
organisers are increasingly
receiving requests for
off-the-beaten-track
destinations or add-on tours
offering affordable, authentic
and fully immersive
experiences and activities.
Based on this, Ecuador
and Peru look good to
trend in 2020 as two of the
most ‘Instagrammable’ hot
spots in South America,
with attractions such as
the Galapagos Islands and
Machu Picchu in the lead,
according to Border Air’s
Rathna Sewdass.
Brazil remains a favourite
due to its proximity and
affordability, she adds.
“Argentina is also incredibly
affordable with sights like
the Iguazu Falls seen from
both Argentina and Brazil.”
Furthermore, Manaus and
the surrounding areas on
the Brazilian side of the
Amazon rainforest were
untouched by last year’s
fires, making them popular
on the cruising and jungle
lodge circuit.
Ross Volk, md of MSC
Cruises SA, says some of
the most popular meeting
and incentive destinations
around the world this year
include Italy, Spain and
France. “The Caribbean and
Americas as well as the
Far East are still popular
even though they are more
expensive than Europe.”
Incentive organiser of
African Firefly Travel, Debbie
McHardy, believes a
reduction in barriers to intraAfrica travel – such as visa
and air access restrictions
– has sparked local interest
in incentive trips to the
continent, including Kenya,
Uganda and Rwanda.
Service levels in Africa
remain a challenge for
incentive travel, she says,
but the increase in supply
and demand should
contribute towards better
service delivery.
Director of Dana Tours,
Natalie Tenzer-Silva, agrees
that African destinations are
increasingly on the MICE
radar. She predicts that
Mozambique will become
one of the go-to business
travel destinations in
Southern Africa this year.
One advantage of choosing
Mozambique, she says,
is that it often prompts
requests to add a leisure
or incentive element pre or
post a business trip.
Bush & beach
TO CAPITALISE on the
pre- and post-trip trend, the
Seychelles Tourism Board
(STB) is actively marketing
what it terms twin-centre
packages – luxury safari and
beach experiences in one
bundled deal – in Southern
and East Africa, including
Kenya, Zambia and South
Africa.
STB regional director for
Africa and the Americas,
David Germain, says the
strategy is supported
by daily flights between
Africa and the Seychelles
operating from Nairobi,
Addis Ababa and
Johannesburg. “Promotions
will be carried out during
2020 in collaboration with
the STB’s airline and trade
partners.”
Seychelles is one of the
leading MICE destinations
in the Indian Ocean, says
Border Air commercial
manager, Helena Maxwell,
speaking on behalf of Air
Seychelles.
Guests can conveniently
connect to the domestic
carrier upon arrival in Mahé
and enjoy a 15-minute
bird’s-eye view of the
scenery on the way to
Praslin.
“The fantastic properties
located across the islands
of Mahé, Praslin and
La Digue accommodate
different sizes of groups
in specialised settings,
however due to limited
capacity, the Seychelles is
better suited to small and
medium MICE groups.”
Activities for delegates can
range from underwater tours
and laughing yoga classes
to sampling Creole dishes
and teeing off amongt the
coconut trees.
MSC Cruises boosts MICE offering
CRUISE bookings for the
MICE industry are a good
way for travel agents to
increase their earnings
by upselling cabins
and promoting pre-paid
packages.
This is according to Ross
Volk of MSC Cruises South
Africa, who has seen a
steady year-on-year increase
in the South African MICE
cruising market, despite a
weakened economy.
According to Ross, MSC
Cruises recently increased
its product offering for MICE
clients. “An example is our
newest ship, MSC Grandiosa,
which has an attractive
offering of a seven-night
cruise in the Mediterranean
that includes Italy, Malta,
Spain and France. We think
the offering provides the
best value for MICE clients
within easy reach of flights.”
MSC Grandiosa – fitted with
the latest environmental,
safety and AI technologies –
is also the line’s third ship
to feature ‘Cirque du Soleil
at Sea’, he says, as part of
the on-board entertainment
on offer.
MSC Cruises’ threenight weekend cruises
are extremely popular for
MICE business, he adds,
because time out of the
office is limited. “During the
2021/2022 local cruise
season, there will even
be the option of two-night
cruises on MSC Musica and
MSC Opera.”
Good to know is that
the line will offer more
departures out of Cape
Town in 2020, and a second
ship for the South African
2020/2021 cruise season
will increase guest capacity
by 50 000, he says.
Last December, MSC
Cruises welcomed its
first guests to Ocean Cay
MSC Marine Reserve,
its new private island in
the Bahamas. “As part
of its commitment to
environmental rehabilitation,
MSC Cruises transformed
the industrial sand
excavation site to a stunning
tropical destination.”
MSC Cruises offers
competitive group rates that
include accommodation, all
meals, entertainment and
conferencing facilities. There
is one free cruise fare for
every 23 delegates booked;
this is limited to a maximum
of ten free cruise fares per
booking.
Book it!
Guests at Minor Hotels’
Anantara Bazaruto Island
Resort in Mozambique
can enjoy a nett package
selling from R5 700
(single) and R9 300
(double) in the standard
season (different rates
apply for the high season).
The price includes
accommodation in a Beach
Villa; breakfast, lunch and
dinner; soft drinks, coffee
and tea, local beer and
wine; and boat transfers
from Vilanculos. Also
included are dune boarding
or a sunset dhow cruise per
group; private beach party;
snorkelling equipment;
one 30-minute morning
meditation; private group
seafood barbecue dinner;
use of bicycles (limited
availability); access to
sports facilities; and nonmotorised water sports.
Valid until January 6, 2021.
Block-out dates apply.
