The largest incentive group going to Melbourne this year comprises 300 attendees. Photo Credit: GettyImages/GordonBellPhotography
Director of sales at ID Events Australia, Karen Livermore, will be
dusting off her work boots after a long hiatus next month when she and
her team welcome the first of six international incentive groups to
Australia.
The groups from the United States, Mexico and Asia will be
participating in Sydney programmes between September and December, with
another group from the UK heading to Cairns during the same time period.
It’s certainly great news for the company that has been in the business of delivering incentive travel rewards for 49 years.
Livermore says requests for proposals have been increasing
significantly in 2022 but they are still just 50% of what ID Events was
being asked to quote on pre-pandemic.
Following a June sales trip to the US and talking to past clients,
she doesn’t expect a huge increase in groups until well into 2023 and
maybe even further.
“What I’m being told is that clients are still playing catch up,” she explains.
“They may have been coming to Australia in 2023 but because they’ve
postponed their programmes in 2020 and 2021 that 2023 Australian
programme is now more likely to be in 2024 or 2025.
“There also remains some reservations about travelling long-haul. The
clients I spoke to [in the US] are preferring North America, and Hawaii
and the Caribbean. Just in case [there are further outbreaks].
But that doesn’t appear to be the case for Melbourne, with the
Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) reporting an additional eight
incentive groups heading to the Victorian capital before the end of the
year.
The MCB announced six incentive groups had been secured in late April
and these latest programmes will see participants from India, Malaysia,
Singapore, Indonesia and New Zealand.
An MCB spokesperson said attendee numbers are also on the rise, with the largest group expected to have 300 participants.
“This short-lead business offers a real boost in hotel occupancy
through the traditional quiet shoulder periods and [also] for Victorian
regional tourism suppliers as all itineraries have a regional
component,” the spokesperson said.