Islands in the stream

Packing your team off to an idyllic island for an exclusive meeting or incentive is a great motivational tool, reports Dominic Ellis.

It is only in the last five years that many of the world's island retreats, for years the sole domain of wealthy leisure breakers, have started to realise their potential as meetings and events destinations.

The ‘3Ms' - Mauritius, Maldives and Madagascar - have been particularly active on this front, establishing more facilities that appeal as much to the corporate looking to work and unwind, as the holidaying guest.

Given geographical constraints, the focus for upmarket islands tends to be on small events and top-end incentives.

Take the Maldives; Akino Nagamine, sales & marketing manager for One&Only Kanuhura says the resort does not have the space or equipment to host groups exceeding 40 people, but that doesn't stop it reaching out to incentive buyers, attracting around five groups a year on average.

"All the groups we've hosted in previous years were extremely successful and clients seemed to be blown away by the uniqueness of the destination and the resort itself," she explains.

"We're very flexible in terms of offering a different range of activities and functions and are probably the most experienced five-star luxury resort for groups.

Brian Davidson, group sales and marketing director, Legacy Hotels & Resorts, which represents Nosy Iranja island resort in Madagascar, finds that, as with other sectors of the leisure market, companies are looking for new experiences to achieve the objectives of teamwork and productive discussion in a relaxed environment.

"The buzz words have to be environment and adventure; the desert island experience has both of these in abundance," he says.

"You still require up-to-date technology - you can never lapse on communications - but a great deal more can be achieved in a geographically remote location."

The feel-good factor of taking colleagues to somewhere culturally unique and memorable is one clear strength of overseas incentives and the only downsides can be travel time, depending on the location, visa costs and airline dependability if transfers are involved, adds Davidson. He recommends keeping some flexibility in the itinerary.

"I'd rate island resorts as superb value for money," he says.

"If you travel to a casino resort, for instance, there's a wealth of distractions. In an island environment you can accurately plan time for focused work and leisure activities. As far as budgeting is concerned, island resorts tend to package everything in, sometimes beverages too, so you have complete control of your expenditure.

Meeting planners are increasingly spoilt for choice in Mauritius, where every business hotel doubles up as a luxury property.

Many of Mauritius' large hotels are equipped to host conferences, ranging from 30 people to 500. The International Conference Centre in Grand Bay and the Freeport Exhibition Centre in Mer Rouge can accommodate 600 and 1000 people respectively.

All nine Beachcomber Hotels feature their own conference rooms which cater for professional or casual meetings - with the exception of Dinarobin Hotel Golf & Spa, which doubles up with the Paradis' conference room - and are kitted out for groups or incentives, "from the luxury of Royal Palm to the liveliness of Le Mauricia".

Approximately 12% of Hilton Mauritius Resort & Spa's business is meetings, incentives, conferences and events oriented; the hotel, which won the World Travel Awards 2007 Leading Conference Hotel Award (Indian Ocean), tends to focus on top level accounts.

The Belle Mare Plage Resort is another business-meet-leisure option, containing a 120-person meeting room.

The Starwood Group's island portfolio is as broad as it is long, and expanding, with two new properties in Mauritius this year - the Four Points by Sheraton Cyber City and The Grand Mauritian Resort & Spa (Luxury Collection) - and other new hotels coming up in Hawaii (April), Dominican Republic (September) and Shimei/Haninan (September 2009).

The Cyprus Tourist Organisation (CTO) has revitalised its activities in the Middle East and looking more to conferences, incentives, golfers and other sports tourists that can fill beds outside the peak summer months.