- For agents, incentive travel is a very important niche that motivates the creation of new areas and specialized brands.
- Demand for the MICE segment will grow between 5% and 10% in 2019, according to CWT's 2019 Report on Future Trends.
Incentive travel is gaining more and more weight in the reservations of travel agencies in many cases representing a "lifeline" to the poor sale of airline tickets. This segment is growing, according to recent studies and the testimony of several travel agents consulted by preferente.com, which highlight its importance to the point that some networks target specialized areas or create new brands dedicated to this niche.
Large networks such as Viajes El Corte Inglés, Halcón or Nautalia have specific areas specialised in events and incentive trips, while groups such as Ávoris have agencies dedicated to this segment, as is the case with BCD Travel (corporate travel is growing in large agencies in the face of the online boom).
Other networks such as Viajes Eroski have Travel Air, its division specialising in corporate travel and specifically the Travel Air Events brand dedicated to incentive travel; Viajes Carrefour has an events and incentive area within the Business Travel department; A year ago, Viajes Azul Marino created a department of MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) with headquarters in Madrid, and today it has four offices dedicated to this niche, the CEO, Juan del Hoyo, stands out for this digital one (Grupo Azul Marino creates a department for congresses and events).
For Sergio Gómez, commercial director of Viajes Eroski, incentive trips are a niche "that is growing more than the market" and that requires "a very high specialization, as well as great knowledge of the market and a special dedication". This is a segment that for the Basque agency network represents a "significant" turnover that has led to the creation of the Travel Air Events brand, explains Gómez, emphasising that "although it does not yet cover the air, it does help a lot", coinciding with Del Hoyo in that they represent a lifeline for the agency in the face of the null sale of airline tickets (Viajes Eroski is awarded the CNMC trips managed by Halcón).
Incentive travel is recovering quite a bit in recent years, after the crisis when demand declined quite a bit, says UNAV president Carlos Garrido, noting that companies are again allocating budget in this segment. "Incentive trips have always been very interesting to market in our agencies because they involve significant bills and the value of the agency is very clear by the personalized service required by this type of travel.
Demand for the MICE segment will grow between 5% and 10% in 2019, according to the 2019 Report on Future Trends in the MICE Segment, published by CWT Meetings & Events. With this outlook, agencies in this niche have a succulent market that has a great advantage in advance sales with potential savings of up to 10%.
Another study recently conducted by SITE (Society for Incentive Travel Exellence) indicates that more than two-thirds of organizers are looking for cheaper destinations by opting for all-inclusive resorts to save costs, while sellers are looking for added value in creativity or innovation through travel experiences.
Credits https://www.preferente.com/noticias-de-agencias-de-viajes/viajes-de-incentivos-la-tabla-de-salvacion-de-las-agencias-283459.html