Of the 105 incentive travel decision makers attending Dreamtime, Tourism Australia’s (TA) biannual trade show and familiarisation program, those staying at the Palazzo Versace were jealously regarded by all and sundry as U2 fever hit the Gold Coast. And the final night’s gala event held at the property couldn’t have been more eagerly anticipated, with delegates and media hoping for a bit of star-spotting as well as some fine food and wine. Some were lucky and did catch sight of Bono and other band members signing autographs to fans outside the venue, including US journalist and Dreamtime attendee, Lori Tenny, who mistakenly hopped on the wrong Harley Davidson transfer from the first day’s activity and found herself face-to-face with the U2 front-man.
For the majority of delegates and the 62 exhibiting companies, Dreamtime 2006 provided plenty of excitement and pleasure away from rock ‘n’ roll band spotting, combining a serious mix of business meetings with the kind of events and activities Dreamtime is becoming recognised for internationally.
Newly crowned managing director of TA, Geoff Buckley, said the decision to host Dreamtime 2006 on the Gold Coast was to reinforce and build upon Australia’s strong reputation as a destination for business events.
“Dreamtime helps to increase awareness among key decision makers of the destination’s offering, ensuring that Australia maintains and grows the industry’s share of this high yield tourism sector,” he said.
Such is the value that TA takes in this event they even had the Federal Minister for Tourism, Fran Bailey, attending on day one of the exhibition component of the program.
Ms Bailey told the dozen or more journalists from around the world participating in the program the Federal Government took the incentive sector of the travel industry “very seriously indeed”.
“Australia has really become a must-see destination,” she said.
“Companies are looking for destinations that are just that little bit different. And with so many different experiences Australia is becoming more popular.”
That point of difference was highlighted at the second day’s barefoot lawn bowling activity organised for participants at a local bowling green. Ms Bailey said this created an opportunity for delegates to talk and interact with everyday Australians, in this case senior members of the Gold Coast lawn bowls fraternity. And this was a fun, interactive experience.
When asked whether Australia being viewed as a safe haven played any part in the incentive destination selection process Ms Bailey said it most certainly did. She cited as an example of our commitment to security the opening night function at Q1 Resort and Spa where security checks were conducted on all visitors to the Observation Deck, located on levels 77 and 78. This is a stunning event venue and worked effectively as a “welcome to the Gold Coast” style of event because of the incredible views of the entire region.
Business sessions
Business sessions at Dreamtime were conducted on day three and four of the event, with delegates given up to 24 15-minute meetings with participating exhibitors each day. Early indications are that exhibitors were happy with the level of interest, with some even anticipating business bookings as a result of attending.
Surprisingly, neither Perth or Brisbane were exhibiting at Dreamtime in 2006. Western Australia was, however, represented by Australia’s North West Tourism, Broome, The Kimberley DMC, and Faraway Bay, The Bush Camp, North Kimberley.
Exhibitor Danelle Jackson of Australia’s North West Tourism said she was very pleased with the quality and range of buyers at Dreamtime 2006.
“It was refreshing to see so many new buyers, all of whom showed keen interest during our appointments,” she said.
“It is definitely a strong forum [in which] to continue building the profile of our unique destination.”
Conference and incentive manager at the Sunshine Coast Convention Bureau, Anne-Marie Coulton was also happy with the event.
“As the Sunshine Coast is considered a `new’ incentive destination with a diverse range of products to offer, people were genuinely interested in what we had to show and tell,” she said.
“We received more than just a little passing interest from a number of European, US and Asian buyers who are looking for new options for jaded, `incentived-out clients; or for second time incentive goers to Australia who want to experience Australia beyond the iconic Sydney, rock and reef experiences.
“New Zealand continues to be a key market for us, so Dreamtime also provided a good opportunity to further build on the existing relationships we have with NZ trade.
“The fact that there were less sellers this year probably also worked to our advantage.”
The Northern Territory Convention Bureau’s manager, Lynn Fairbrass, said she was extremely pleased with the level of interest received from buyers attending Dreamtime.
“We attended along with our industry partners, the Alice Springs Convention Centre and a new product called Anangu Waii, specialising in indigenous touring experiences, which combined to present a strong Northern Territory story,” she said.
“We had a constant stream of appointments with very genuine interest in the Territory and all it has to offer for incentives, with at least two event quotes resulting – we anticipate more to come through once all buyers have returned home to their offices.
“The post-Dreamtime famil to Uluru (Ayers Rock) in Central Australia was also very well supported, with a mixture of buyers from Asia, the US, New Zealand and Europe participating in the three-day program.”
Social events
As mentioned, the barefoot bowling on day two of the official program was a real hit with hosted buyers and media. With their shoes off delegates were split into teams and given instruction by some local mature-age players for a fun and relaxing game.
Following this everybody went inside the clubhouse for a casual buffet lunch and a humorous awards presentation for winning teams. On departure delegates were given the option of a Harley Davidson or classic car transfer back to their hotel. Some would have been equally as happy to play a few more ends of bowls.
That night’s function was at the Q1 Observation Deck, which is housed in the world’s largest residential tower. Delegates were given a bird’s eye view of where they were over champagne cocktails and canapés. The venue offers stunning 360 degree views of the Gold Coast, and serves up a good range of quality wines and tasty finger foods. The clear highlight of the four-day program was most certainly the Crystal Rainforest dinner, organised by Off-Site Connections Event Management. Despite the threat of some inclement weather the event went off without a hitch thanks to the creativity of the events team, some wonderful entertainment and fine food and wine.
Prior to dinner fire eaters and dancers entertained followed by a tight jazz band and later opera singer and performer Danielle Everett who shook the walls of the marquee with her haunting voice. Those who didn’t leave on the first buses back to their hotels were invited to dance the night away or chill out and enjoy the ambience of the setting. Day four gave hosted buyers a night off from the formal program, with many choosing to experience some of the Gold Coast’s nightlife. The media contingent attended one of the Gold Coast’s newest attractions, Australian Outback Spectacular.
The Australian Outback Experience is a purpose-built venue and evening dinner show which is described as telling the story of the nation’s outback heritage in an exciting and authentic format.
It is proving so popular with tourists, both nationally and internationally, that from this month (December) it will be operating two shows each night. It would also fit well with international incentive groups who are happy with an on-the-shelf product and don’t mind being part of a larger crowd.
The Australian Outback Spectacular was written by Ignatius Jones and was the brainchild of CEO of Warner Village Theme Parks, John Menzies, who saw a similar show in Europe many years ago.
It was off to Dreamworld for breakfast on day five for all hosted buyers and a chance to try one of Dreamworld’s more exciting theme-park rides if they so desired. The Claw was one of those options. Delegates who could think of nothing worse than being thrown about in mid-air over and over were invited to cuddle a koala.
Team-building style games and lunch were then held at the Hyatt Regency Sanctuary Cove under the kind of sun that had health-conscious delegates slapping on the 30 plus. Activities delegates could play included beach volleyball, table tennis, tug-of-war and sand sculpting. It was all pretty relaxed, with games followed by an even more relaxing lunch around the lagoon-style resort pool and beach.
Media delegates were given the added-bonus of a number of extra-curricular activities which included swimming with the dolphins or sharks at Sea World, a helicopter joyflight, golf at Royal Pines, and a Holden Performance Racing Team experience, all of which were given the thumbs up by participants.
What they said
Sally McGarvey of McGarvey Russell Ltd in the UK was a first-time participant of Dreamtime, and was suitably impressed with the event overall. She said despite already hosting four incentive events in Australia it was becoming increasingly difficult to bring groups down under because of the time participants had to spend out of the office simply getting to the destination.
“You’re competition now is South Africa and Dubai in the Middle East,” she said.
“You can do three or four night incentives there because it is so much closer to the UK. If you’re coming to Australia you really need to stay for seven nights or more.
“As a motivator Australia is still up there with any destination but time [out of the office] is money.”
Ms McGarvey said the one-hour time difference in South Africa and the close proximity to the UK was far more appealing to her clients than a 10-hour time difference in Australia.
Azure Pacific Event Management’s Eric Nicoll said Dreamtime has shifted the way he perceived Australia to be.
“I’ve always thought it was to far [from the US],” he said.
“Where I’m from we don’t get a lot of exposure to Australia. This exhibition has given me the opportunity to learn more about your country, and I have found it thoroughly beneficial.”
Jennifer Ma of China Travel Services said the incentive market in Australia appears to be extremely mature.
“Tourism Australia is very aggressive in China, and is particularly helpful in assisting with visas. A lot of companies are choosing Australia as an incentive destination because they are assisted in getting visas for the entire group.
“Australia is a different destination. It is part of Asia but more westernised. Compared to Europe and the US it is much cheaper.”
Ms Ma said companies with high incentive budgets traditionally choose Europe and North America for their incentives. Those with smaller, more moderate budgets select Asian destinations, including Australia.
Ms Ma also said good flight connections were imperative to bringing groups to Australian destinations. She said her company has had groups in Sydney and the Gold Coast and had recently started sending groups to Melbourne. Being able to hire Chinese tour guides was another factor in destination choice. Indian incentive buyer, Amod Thatte of Thomas Cook (India) Ltd said Europe remains the number one destination for Indian incentive travellers.
“Everyone in India wants to visit Europe. You can see 10 or 11 different countries in a couple of days.
“Tourism Australia is doing a good job in India, and I believe that Australia will have more groups from my country in the future.”
Thumbs up
• Barefoot bowling – a casual first-off event that worked extremely well with the number of delegates
• The performance by the Australian Girls’ Choir at the Qantas-sponsored lunch
• The second night Crystal Rainforest event held in the Gold Coast hinterland
• Business sessions (and lunches) at the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre
Thumbs down
• Slow coach transfers (not the coaches per se but the departure of coaches from venues as the majority of delegates awaited late-running delegates…or something of that nature)
• The number of stand-up events – the first at Q1, the stand-up breakfast at Dreamworld, and the gala “dinner” at Palazzo Versace. (Perhaps the writer of this report is getting old!)
Tourism Australia released the findings of the 2004/05 National Incentive Study at Dreamtime on the Gold Coast in an effort to better understand the incentives sector.
The study found that the sector is worth more than $300 million to Australia’s inbound tourism expenditure, with more than 150,000 incentive visitors arriving in Australia during 2004/05.
The web-based survey of incentive organisers was conducted from November 2005 to January 2006 with 32 responses from inbound tour operators and destination management companies (and a database of 91 events developed from responses).
It was estimated that in a typical year about 1600 incentive events occur in Australia with the majority from North East Asia (47.1 per cent) and South East Asia (23.8 per cent). The strongest country-specific business was deemed to come from Japan (27.7 per cent) and the United States (11 per cent).
Other key findings included:
• Average group size was 214
• Of the industry groups identified, 19 per cent of groups came from the pharmaceutical industry, 16 per cent from insurance and 14 per cent from automotive. However, the largest group was “other industries” (32 per cent)
• The events ranged in length from two to 12 days, with an average of 5.3 days
• The most popular state destination was Queensland (52 visits) but these were shared around the state, with 27 visits to the Gold Coast and 20 to northern parts of the state
• The average expenditure per person was $2014, or $375 per person per day. This varied substantially depending on the region or origin of visitors
• The total expenditure estimate was in excess of $304 million. (This figure omits domestic incentive programs.)
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