Those who are familiar with the travel industry would have heard of the acronym M.I.C.E.  It stands for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions.  It’s a fast-growing speciality within Travel and has been the result of a growing need of large corporations to take their staff to exotic destinations for a meeting, incentive tour, conference or exhibition.  Of particular interest to me is the Incentive Tour component.

You see, a healthy chunk of my job involves designing and managing Reward and Recognition programs for an Insurance major in India.  And a large part of the R&R portfolio is made up of managing Incentive Tours for the sales staff (and select partners and distributors) at locations all over the world.  Now, I have never been regarded as an expert in Travel Management.  I have never even been on a tour as a part of a large group, preferring to take my holidays with close family or friends.  But, I love a challenge that takes some doing.  And this was one such bargain.

The group comprised 100 people, and there were a million details to attend to.  The final list to be announced, passports and visa forms to be collected, meal preferences, table seating, rooming lists, trophies to be made for each with his/her name embossed on it… Hotels had to be chosen, itineraries had to be planned, Gala Night to be orchestrated… performance artistes, MC, local souvenirs, guides who know what to do and where to go… And that’s not all.  The entire tour had to be an “experience”.  After all, it shouldn’t just be another holiday, should it?  So, every possible avenue of branding had to be utilised to the fullest – Welcome banners, danglers in the bus, giveaways with our logo on it, etc. etc. etc.

For more than 2 months, my team and I have been sweating it out, attending to the minutiae and planning for every eventuality.  Last night, when the flight from Bangkok touched down at Mumbai International Airport, it finally came to an end.  And it was a resounding success!

Sure, there were some minor setbacks, but which tour doesn’t have those? The feedback on the whole was very positive.  Thanks to a very able assistant (Farhan) and the services of the professional and helpful staff of the Hard Rock Hotel (Pattaya), I was able to successfully take a group of 100 to Thailand and ensure that all of them had the time of their lives during the 3 nights and 4 days we spent there. Rest assured, I could count on joining the MICE team of any travel firm in the country, if ever the need arose.

For now, though, it’s back to work as usual.  As my boss said : Take the Sat, Sun off.  You’ve earned it.  See you in office on Monday!!!