Trends Boost Florida As Incentives Mecca

<B> Trends Boost Florida As Incentives Mecca</B>

By Elaine Cipriano

With incentive travel increasing generally, Florida would be getting its share of business under any circumstances. But as it happens, several current incentive industry trends are playing perfectly into the state's hands.

One such trend is a "back-to-basics" attitude among many incentive planners--and Florida is the quintessential destination for basics such as warm sand and sunlight.

There are also a lot of budget watchers these days, which is good for Florida because of its favorable air and hotel costs.

The demand for family-friendly programs is soaring, and most Florida resorts cater to this need.

Then there's the attendee's desire for more free time, which can be satisfied by Florida's many mega-attractions that allow winners to choose their type of enjoyment.

There's a general increased interest in cruise incentives, and Florida is the nation's top state for cruising.

And most of all, Florida always is adding a host of new and different options for incentive groups to enjoy--and the need for new thrills is perhaps the most basic of all incentive tenets.

"Almost every incentive industry trend works to Florida's favor--or they are just smart enough to cash in on them," said Bob Vitagliano, executive vice president for the Society for Incentive & Travel Executives.

One of the most important advantages for Florida is a general reappraisal of what motivates many program participants.

"There has been a return to the basics in the industry recently," said Greg Kurdian, chairman of Sunbound/Bahama Fantasies in Fort Lauderdale. "Most people on incentive trips want two things: They want sun, and they want to relax. Florida fulfills these needs."

Agreed Anne Wold-Graham, senior vice president of New York incentive house EGR International, "Most clients just want sun, sea and sand, so Florida is perfect. The coast is as beautiful there as any exotic beach, and the winter season is better than the West Coast."

The cost of incentives has been an increasingly important issue for many program sponsors, and planners cited Florida as having some of the best rates among the top year-round destinations. "Rates have definitely gone up in Florida, but they have gone up everywhere," said Wold-Graham.

But sun, sand and good value are not enough to bring back groups to the same region year after year. "Florida continually recycles incentive business by giving people a new reason to come back," said Frank Matthews, president of International Travel Solutions, an Orlando destination management company. Among recent additions, he cited the 800-room Loews Miami Beach Hotel, which will open in October, as a natural fit for incentive groups. The new upscale property, located in the South Beach Art Deco District, will provide various dining and recreational options.

Kurdian agreed that Loews, the first new hotel to be built in Miami Beach in 30 years, will give incentive groups a reason to go back. "The opening of this hotel will trigger a new round of incentives to Florida," he said. "Its location is a unique one that will give participants an air of relaxation. People are tired of being regimented."

New and future attractions in central Florida include Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom and SeaWorld's Journey to Atlantis, which opened last month; Universal Studios' CityWalk entertainment complex (opening this year), Loews Hotel (1999) and Hard Rock Hotel (2000). These changes to familiar theme parks mean more opportunities for unique group events, as well as an opportunity for easily planned, unstructured time for participants.

Incentive planners also pointed to the Disney Institute as an alternative to commonplace activities. The intimate learning facility, modeled after a college campus, creates programs specifically tailored to incentive groups. Some classes are for personal enrichment such as cooking, rock climbing or animation; others incorporate business techniques and team building.

One program that has been used by many incentive groups is "Imagineer It," which uses story-telling techniques to trigger creativity in a team.

The Disney Institute still has room to grow its incentive market, which currently accounts for 5 to 10 percent of business, said Craig Taylor, the facility's director of business programs for the Disney Institute. "We are able to create a unique piece of the trip," he said. "This has worked best with smaller incentive groups to this point."

Another attraction that has successfully refocused its appeal to incentive groups is the Kennedy Space Center, 45 minutes east of Orlando. The center has opened its doors to incentive functions by creating customized tours with NASA shuttle directors and astronauts; catering food-and-beverage events; and opening the Apollo/Saturn V Center, which includes an actual 363-foot, 6.2-million-pound Saturn V rocket.

Kurdian recently brought in an incentive group of 450 that took over the center's space-camp facility. The group toured the launch pads and received a dinner on the newly opened LC 30 Observation Gantry, an enclosed observation deck with a panoramic view of the shuttle launch pads, the assembly building and the launch-control center.

"Suddenly the Kennedy Space Center has taken off again because of a resurgence of general interest in the space program," Kurdian said.

According to space center spokesperson Melissa Tomasso, "We are beginning to be proactive in targeting incentive groups," she said. "I think we're a hot destination because everything else in the area is fantasy, while we're the real stuff."

Florida has long been considered a "family-friendly" destination, and as more families are incorporated into incentive trips as a way to boost attendance and morale, the state's incentive business is benefitting.

"Incentive programs everywhere are incorporating more children, but this is even more true for a Florida program," Kurdian said. "Most people don't want to bring their children on a long flight to Paris or Nirobi, and they feel their children are safer and more protected in Florida."

Increased interest in holding incentive trips on cruise ships also has flooded the state with programs. The world's two busiest cruise ports are located in Fort Lauderdale and Miami, with a 3.5 million combined passenger traffic, and every major cruise line is represented in at least one Florida port, including Celebrity Cruises, Holland America, Royal Caribbean Cruises and Carnival Cruise Lines.

According to Cruise Lines International Association, a boom in new ships is occurring, with a record number of new ships on order between now and 2001.

"We do so many cruise programs from Miami," said Bill Cutler, president of Cutler Travel Marketing in West Des Moines, Iowa. "There was a drop-off in the amount of Florida incentive programs we did until the boom in cruises hit. The cruise industry keeps bringing us back to Florida for pre- and post-cruise trips."

Disney has capitalized on this trend as well with the impending launch of Disney Cruise Lines, which will be heavily marketed to incentive groups. The company will combine four days on a ship with three days on land into one seamless package. After months of delays, the maiden voyage of the first ship, Disney Magic, will be in June, while the Disney Wonder is scheduled to set sail in March 1999.