Queenslanders are spending $6.9 million globally to push their state to the forefront in the competitive worldwide incentive travel arena.
Queenslanders are spending $6.9 million globally to push their state to the forefront in the competitive worldwide incentive travel arena.
“Recognition and rewards are now embedded into the workplace culture and proffer a measurable impact on the bottom line, so Queensland should see an impressive return on investment,” said joint managing director of EVT Incentive Marketing, Mercedes Trautwein,
EVT Incentive Marketing is an official industry partner in Queensland Tourism’s Million Dollar Memo campaign.
The rewards of business travel experiences, that is, incentives and convention travel, are proven; with every dollar invested returning on average, $12.40 in increased revenue and $3.80 in new profits, according to the organisation.
Last year incentive travellers to Australia spent $1.2 billion: 32 per cent going to New South Wales; Victoria saw 30 per cent and Queensland 27 per cent.
Travel is and will always be the number one incentive, said Trautwein. Fortunately, Australian employers have not lost sight of the importance of incentive travel. They realise curbing any type of business travel has a negative impact on corporate profits.
She adds that incentives are no longer exclusive to the sales department, but are being put in across the board, ticking each box on the organisational chart from internal operations, franchisees and distributors to the people on the front line interacting with the potential customers. Companies big and small have had a rough ride in the last few years and are even more appreciative of their staff and distributors that have stood by and weathered the storm. The focus is on the business triumvirate of reward, retain and grow.
The Million Dollar Memo campaign will provide a huge boost for Queensland’s business tourism.
EVT Incentive Marketing has been incorporating Queensland into incentive campaigns for 25 years.
“With three international and 14 domestic airports it’s easy to access and as soon as you step off the plane there is the instant ‘drop-shoulders’ moment as one squint’s into the ever present sunshine. The extremes of landscape are paralleled by the breadth of budgets, covering the economical to the luxurious. The diversity of sights and activities makes choice the only problem. As incentive trips are usually very short, often just a few days, delegates can revel in contrasts.”
The winners of the Million Dollar Memo campaign should aim to create a local immersion experience as the typical Queenslanders laid-back rhythm makes it easy to work with the locals and the weather is always on side.
In 2011, clients are certainly making the incentive budget work harder, where once it was solely about performance and reward, we’ve seen a trend to include product training, launches, team building, change management, customer service and more.
“Recently a small automotive parts distributor ran a rewards and points programme that saw an increase in sales of 40 percent over six months. The travel reward culminated in a progressive gastronomic afternoon which went into the evening with different food stations set up in secluded scenic spots. The ‘castaways’ were given maps and had to find their choice of activity and food. An oyster shucker was amongst the vines; snorkel and flippers were required to get to the sushi stand on a sand bank; beers were in a submerged wreck and trees had to be scaled for coconut deserts,” she said.
Thus, the real challenge for entrants in the Million Dollar Memo campaign is how best to spend that million dollars imaginatively in the most original and expansive way to drive long term motivation and behavoural change.
According to the Incentive marketing Association, the incentive marketing industry worldwide is said to be worth more than $46 billion and Queensland is set to reap a sizeable chunk after the Million Dollar Memo campaign.
