If anything , what 2020 has taught us, is to be flexible, in fact nimble is a better word, quick to adjust your stance and move forward in cautious optimism.
Our approach to incentives, focus on designing something innovative, and now even more important, having an element of “fair trade”/ pay it forward in its design.
Is CSI ( corporate social investment) more important than ever before in a world that has been economically shattered? Are we aware that incentives, can be seen as selfish, over the top, wasteful, to the recipient of the incentive award, or to their network of people around them?
(And it goes without saying, declustered, smaller experiences, events and trips that are far less “mass tourism/ crowded spaces”, and avoiding the need to attend or create large gatherings, but more manageable, un-conference like experiences.)
Africa as a canvas in the shadow of COVID, is ideal with remote safari lodges, instead of crowded cities, smaller resorts instead of massive hotel chains, and often greatly reduced “human health risk footprints” and very well managed transport into and out of these regions, without the bottleneck of big hub airports and massive amounts of people to navigate.
This post COVID world has developed more awareness around how do we really reward our staff, our customers or key clients, but also be considerate to the needs of those in our host destination?
We developed a model years ago, which essentially was to enhance the “leaving a legacy” thinking in the minds of our MICE clients, when they were choosing a destination.
Now more than ever, we have seen that this thinking does really boil down to this: is a MICE experience, supposed to be mindful of the realities on the ground, the challenges of poverty, or anti- poaching, or conservation minded, or aware of social challenges in the host nation? Can a MICE trip make a positive and lasting impact in a region with the help of a local partner ? A visit to a local school perhaps bordering on a safari area, whose children will become the next generation of custodians of this national park, but who see very little real benefit at grassroots level in their community.
Is it more important than ever to really think that part of your budget? Part of your trip experience, is a well designed, respectfully considered “paying it forward “experience for the delegates.
Do you want your MICE guests to feel that you as the corporate client, or the organiser, took the idea of “paying it forward” more seriously than perhaps ever before?
We believe in looking at some key underlying values in your business model, and then adding an experience into the program, that just gives it a silver lining.
We don’t loose focus or shift the whole trip away from thrilling your guests with luxury, and mind blowing experiences, and strategic business value going forward, but also somehow gave them a small window of opportunity to really be mutual givers of goodwill, that meant they returned home with a sense of gratitude, that perhaps was a little less ego centric than last year.
African Incentive Travel operates in 10 nations in Africa, and the vast majority of these nations are highly reliant on tourism and this downturn of tourism has directly impacted the sustainability of national parks, wildlife reserves and their distinct and diverse cultures.
Let us help you, design a trip that will surely leave you and your clients touched in their hearts, but without loosing the real focus of what you want to achieve as a company or organiser.
