For all of those who didn’t participate at SITE’s Incentive Summit Education Day, let us remind you that the Slovenia Convention Bureau was hosting one of the most important associations in the global MICE segment, the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE).
SITE chose Ljubljana as its priority destination to organise The Incentive Summit Days, which took place between the 18th and 22nd January 2016.
This annual education event “took the SITE Board of Directors and Foundation Trustees to a part of the world that was less known, or completely unknown, to the majority of board members”, which gave them a chance to experience the charm and beauty of Ljubljana (and Slovenia) and also gave them a quick insight into the various incentive travel opportunities in Slovenia and the region.
Everybody who participated in the lectures during the SITE incentive educational day had a fantastic opportunity to learn from global incentive professionals on why and how “Incentive travel is not a luxury, but a necessity”, and could get a better understanding on the incentive travel basic concepts. Here are some of the main topics presented and discussed at the Education day:
1. Fundamentals of an Incentive Travel Programme
2. What Makes a Good DMC for Incentives
3. Perceptions and Expectations About Incentives Around the World
The Kongres Magazine asked SITE’s CEO Kevin M. Hinton to tell us his views of the SEE region as a potential incentive destination.
Q: The SEE region is by now a well known and an interesting destination for incentive travels, but is not quite established at the international level. How do you see the South East European region, what are its potentials and its advantages?
The region’s potential is likely limitless because of the regional access to the SEE market, however globally the potential is limited foremost by the challenge of accessibility and brand recognition. There are limited long-haul/internatinal flights into the region, yet at the same time, there are multiple airports between which the driving distances are not very long. So, accessibility is both a limitation and a positve attribute. It is also challenging for some of us outside of the region to (literally) know where you are located on the world map. One more thing – how to pronouciate Loob-liana? Or, is it Lyu-bly-ana? I can’t wait to meet more people there!
Q: How do you see Slovenia in terms of incentive travels? What challenges must we face and overcome, as an incentive travel destination, to put our county on the map of popular and attractive international incentive travel destinations?
The SEE region is an emerging incentive destination and we are exciting to have incentive leaders from around the world gathering there together for a week to experience first-hand this unique and very intriguing and appealing part of the world. My perception is that your history is fascinating, culture is sophisticated, and the culinary experience is luxury. These are critical componennts of any leading incentive destination so i’d say you have the ingredients; with improvide infrastucture/accessibility and a strionger global brand, you will achieve the potential that exists for you.
