We’re travelling again... or are we?

Peter Gray, an independent Motivation Consultant, presents a regular Business Events News feature on current issues in the Conference and Incentive industries.

THE news that New Zealand has agreed to a travel bubble with Australia hit the headlines in just about every newspaper and industry news sheet. Hotels in both countries are jubilant; airlines (well, two of them) are dusting off their fleets ready to accommodate the mass exodus and arrivals. Tourism offices have come back to life (not that, from my inbox, they have been far away).

BUT - and there has to be one - “Those undertaking travel on either side of the ditch will do so under the guidance of flyer beware,” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said when announcing the travel bubble. This basically means that if you’re away from home and the country or state you’re in decides to close its border you’re stuck...and many, if not most, travel insurers will not cover you for costs incurred as a result of a pandemic.

If you’re an incentive practitioner, conference organiser or event manager, multiply that problem by the number of participants or delegates involved in your reward program or event. Who’s going to pick up the tab for a large number of people who can’t get home, perhaps for several days? I’m assuming the generosity of the airlines will allow flights to be postponed but I feel sure that the event organiser isn’t going to pay; it’s highly unlikely that the client is going to be happy with an extra, very substantial bill. And will the country or state provide suitable replacement accommodation at no cost? Your guess is as good as mine.

This has been the problem all along and one that that the Australian federal and state governments have continually failed to address. Cheap flights to holiday destinations may keep the airlines and hotels happy for a while, but when the groups that provide a substantial source of income (up to seven times the expenditure of the average tourist) fail to materialise, what then?

Incentive programs provide a rich source of business for companies that use them but many of these programs rely on travel rewards to motivate the participants. New Zealand is a major provider of incentive travel rewards but the prospect of having your most productive dealers, suppliers or staff stuck there is not a happy one. The business events industries which have been among the hardest hit, and which our government clearly does not understand, needs a clearer pathway for the future.