Destination Gold Coast shares essential design elements to successful incentive travel programs.
Incentive travel remains crucial to businesses in the post-pandemic world. Leadership inSITEs, a 2022 Society for Incentive Travel Excellence study conducted in partnership with MBA candidates from Southern Methodist University (SMU) Cox School of Business indicated that C-suite leaders consider incentive travel as a differentiator in driving sales, retaining employees and fostering a strong company culture.
Leon Burman, managing director of Tribe Events says, “a well-planned program can bring the team together to learn and share experiences.” It presents a golden opportunity for organisations to present their future whilst leveraging heightened team spirit.
Echoing Burman’s sentiments is immediate past president of SITE ANZ chapter and director of The Conference Room, Colette Baini, “Incentive travel plays to our human need for recognition and can drive a team’s performance to the next level. Without it, organisations may find managing performance an arduous task.”
Destination Gold Coast have worked on successful incentive trips with leading agencies like Tribe Events and The Conference Room. Here are some key design elements of a successful incentive travel program:
Align your goals with in-destination experiences
Tap into local connections that can help you drive your organisational vision. For example, organisations that wish to activate entrepreneurial spirit amongst their top achievers could invite a thought-leader from The Gold Coast Innovation Hub to speak at a networking function.
Fostering collaboration remains crucial to organisations with a hybrid workforce. There is a plethora of team building experiences that are unique to Gold Coast all within just 30-minutes travel time. From morning yoga on one of 21 beaches to solving a mystery at The Escape Hunt Experience Gold Coast.
Incorporate special moments
Incentive travel is about creating incredible moments that a leisure holiday cannot. “Instead of using coach transfers to a cocktail party, imagine the reaction on our top achievers’ faces when they were greeted by a roaring motorcade of 140 Harley Davidson motorbikes that emerged from the garage of their hotel,” Baini recalls as she describes a surprise element she deployed for her program on the Gold Coast.
“Gold Coast is well known as Australia’s incentive playground. Today, this destination truly delivers on more sophisticated experiences, more connections with masterful artisans, with creators, and with innovators. From homegrown brewers to moviemakers, it stretches your imagination.”
Unique venues on the Gold Coast are very much in demand. HOTA, Cali Beach Club and Miami Marketta are just some of the many popular venues that are well-equipped for a special brand activation. For more of an immersive experience, incentive travel planners have also incorporated ‘story-doing’ experiences at local breweries to give the achievers a sense of adventure.
Fireworks are always a great treat. However, special moments can also come from simple and pure intentions – a sound advice from Baini. Off-the-beaten track experiences have been ranking high on the wish list for many incentive travel organisers. A trip to the Gold Coast hinterlands can be attractive to those who yearn to connect with nature.
Sustainability and CSR Impact
“At the heart of incentive travel is an opportunity to create a positive impact – be it for the employee, team, or community,” said Burman. Being culturally sustainable has become increasingly important to the next generation. Your next program could start off with an exclusive buy out of the Burleigh Pavilion that incorporates an educational “Welcome to Country” ceremony as a way of showing respect to Australia’s indigenous community.
Whether it is using local produce or supporting underserved communities, consider partnering with Gold Coast’s large pool of suppliers with robust sustainability and CSR practices. For example, introduce a “clean the beach” activity as a morning exercise and opting to not provide single-use material during the program could encourage your top achievers to be more socially responsible.
There are many ways to bring a successful program to life. Burman shared that the secret to an amazing incentive travel program is to surround yourself with the best partners who can help design and execute the program well.
“Ultimately, success drives success, and so a successful program can potentially lead to increased profitability for organisations,” said Baini.
This branded content is brought to you by Destination Gold Coast.