Frequent travellers understand that every country and city in the world carries a certain level of danger if, as a visitor, you are not cautious about where you are travelling and when. We all know that to walk down a dark alley in an area that we don’t know too much about is probably asking for trouble. And, because the majority of us are pretty smart, we don’t do such things.
Thankfully, acts of terror, hostage dramas, and political demonstrations that get out of hand are rare and rarely affect the general traveller. But potentially they can, which is why when it comes to group travel for meetings and incentives planners go out of their way to avoid areas that have had any recent unrest or could have unrest in the future.
From a personal perspective I have heard planners cross destinations off their lists for upcoming meetings and incentives following periods of political uncertainty. And unfortunately, no level of discounted accommodation, flights, and free welcome receptions are going to make a scrap of difference. If people are fearful of going to a destination then what is the good of that if their visit is supposed to be a reward for the hard work they have done during the year? How can a trip to a destination where they are nervous of visiting motivate them to achieve more in the coming 12 months?
It has taken Australian conference and incentive groups 10 years to return to Bali after the Bali bombings of 2002. Only this year has Bali seen a number of Australian MICE groups return to the island.
Now, the most recent incident has been the hijacking of a bus in Manila filled with Chinese tourists. Reports said that nine people died, including the gunman.
Reports also said that this was not a terrorist attack, but will the Chinese care? What impact will this have on Chinese tourists visiting the Philippines? I would suggest plenty.
It could also have an impact on the MICE segment, with groups perhaps pulling out of the Philippines and instead looking at what they perceive to be safer destinations.
As micenet ASIA editor Pauline Tan reports in this issue (pages 6-8), cruises for groups is on the rise in Asia, as it is in the rest of the world. Has this something to do with the rising uncertainty of the relative safety of destinations generally? Do groups feel safer on cruise ships and therefore more motivated to achieve for their companies?
A coincidence or simply another example of the changing landscape of the MICE industry? We welcome your feedback.

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