Kyoto, Japan
As things heated up inside the Oval Office, he said, “Wait a minute guys. See that rock, it’s 3.6 billion years old. We’re all just passing through, so take a deep breath, calm down, and let’s see what makes sense.”
The gesture accomplished the desired effect on the group dynamic by forcing everyone’s brain to turn a corner.
Most meeting planners fully understand the power of creativity—whether it’s a venue, experience, agenda or moon rock—to shift the framework of a conversation. But the message was really hammered home at the first IMEX America 2011 tradeshow in October, located in the Sands Convention Center between The Venetian Las Vegas and The Palazzo Las Vegas. Suppliers from Australia to Zimbali were pumped up with the overwhelming success of the new show, while promoting their innovative group options within a context of worldwide culture.
JAPAN BOUNCES BACK
This was a priority on our list. When the earthquake and tsunami rearranged the northern coastline off Fukushima on March 11, meeting professionals and PCOs around the world cancelled programs everywhere in Japan.
Gil Cardon, convention manager with the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), has been very busy since then to show the world testimonials from groups who have visited recently. Definitely check out JNTO’s series of YouTube videos where attendees provide plenty of firsthand feedback.
“Things started to pick up in June and we started to see some of the conferences and conventions that were postponed in those immediate months following being put back forth into motion,” says Cardon. “Since then it’s been pretty steadily increasing back to normal…. The recovery is definitely in motion.”
But are there lingering doubts in the U.S. market?
“I think so, unfortunately,” says Cardon. “It depends on who you ask. If you ask the delegates who have visited, they’ll say, ‘Yes, there was a little bit of concern but not much…. Once we arrived here, we realized it’s totally fine and things are okay.’”
To visit Japan as a hosted buyer, consider attending next year’s Meet Japan 2012, running Feb. 23-March 1.
Cardon says the most popular group destinations for U.S. planners are Tokyo in the north and Osaka/Kyoto in the central region. Up until 1869, Kyoto was the cultural and political capital of Japan and the birthplace of Zen Buddhism.
This is Japan’s moon rock.
Imagine an executive group meditation class inside an ancient temple with a Buddhist monk leading the proceedings. We spoke with Taka Kawakami, a venerated monk in Kyoto who facilitates just such events inside Shunkoin Temple, established in 1590. Inside, historical artifacts date back to the 16th century.
“Many participants say they enjoy my Zen meditation class and learn how to use Zen philosophy and meditation in their everyday lives,” says Kawakami. “They say that the class is great because they can learn not only the tradition, but they can also learn the reason why meditation is useful to their lives.”
We had to ask. What’s the ROI of a Zen meditation class?
“Being present and understanding impermanency are the main contexts of Zen Buddhism,” Kawakami explains. “In a business sense, it is important to know the reality and changing situation of your business. You need to keep adjusting yourself to the change; you cannot use the same business strategy again and again. It is necessary to understand the situation and reinvent yourself.”
James Kent, marketing coordinator for Kyoto Convention Bureau, says the meditation classes are popular, as well as tea ceremonies and Taiko drumming lessons. Groups also often break into smaller classes for flower arranging, calligraphy lessons, pottery making and kimono dyeing.
Kyoto is two hours south of Tokyo via the many speedy bullet trains, and Kent says split programs are common with 28% of inbound traffic to Kyoto coming from the States. He told us, “Both Kyoto and Tokyo need each other…. Especially now.”
Luxor, Egypt
EGYPT CHARTS A NEW COURSE
In a similar cataclysmic vein, the lines at the Pyramids of Giza have been somewhat shorter following the political upheaval in Cairo last February. Numbers for U.S. group/transient arrivals are down about 47% from 2010, so this is a rather fortuitous time to put together an RFP to take advantage of aggressive pricing.
We spoke with Mohamed Hegazy, deputy director of the Egypt Tourism Authority in New York.
“Whatever the media is reporting about the unrest, there is still a large amount of U.S. corporate groups making the decision to book Egypt,” says Hegazy. “We are coming back, the worst of 2011 is over. The Egyptian history and Egyptian culture are still there, as is the passion that U.S. people have to relish it.”
Hegazy adds that the only thing different in 2011 in terms of the overall destination experience is, “Egyptians are perhaps even more inspired than ever to welcome visitors.”
We experienced that during a visit in September at the 340-room Sheraton Cairo Hotel & Casino, located downtown just 30 minutes from the airport; 20 from the pyramids. The hotel is presently undergoing a thorough renovation with a grand unveiling expected in May. Many rooms overlook a tributary of the Nile, and the wondrous Egyptian Museum is only 1.2 miles away.
At the footsteps of the pyramids, the historic Mena House Oberoi is also undergoing renovations with expected completion in spring 2012. Originally built in 1869, the 523-room palatial property hosted Egyptian/Israeli peace talks in 1977 inside its 20,000 sf of function space. We like the authentic architecture, 40 acres of gardens and the continental cuisine at Al Rubayyat, with its high Arabesque arches and Mashrabia screens.
Mena House is as much a museum as it is a hotel, with priceless antiques in the public spaces and expansive rooms rich with brocade fabrics. Book the pyramid-view rooms/suites overlooking these magnificent tombs, where a nighttime view from the patio is magical with the Great Pyramid of Giza, a centerpiece of antiquity, aglow in magnificence.
Hegazy says the two most popular pre/post options include a short flight south to Luxor to visit the Valley of the Kings before sailing the Nile to Aswan. Others venture to the Red Sea to visit Hurghada and Sharm el Sheikh for the upscale resorts and magnificent spa culture. In Hurghada, 93% of the 388 rooms at the luxurious Steigenberger Al Dau Beach Hotel face the sea.
Fjord country, Norway
BERGEN: GATEWAY TO THE FJORDS
Carved by glaciers grinding mountains through the millennia, Norway’s majestic fjords are located along the west coast. The city of Bergen is the jumping off point accessible via a 1-hour flight from Oslo, as well as numerous other European capitals.
Back in the day, a fleet of postal steam ships delivered the mail up and down the fjords to towns tucked in among the many hidden coves. Today, the restored boats deliver incentive winners to glaciers ribboned with deep blue crevasses.
Wiebke Zimmermann is a project manager at Scandinavian Incentives in Oslo, who just came back from a custom-designed program for 25 Swiss CEOs. It started with a 90-minute trip aboard a coastal steamer to Hardangerfjord, regarded as one of the prettiest waterways in the country with tall forests scaling up the bordering cliffs. As the group disembarked on land, they were immediately attacked by Vikings.
“I was a bit afraid it would be tacky but it worked out really well,” giggles Zimmermann. “The five men dressed as Vikings really got into their roles and the costumes were very authentic. They said, ‘If you want to stay here, you have to prove you’re a proper warrior.’” So the Vikings taught the group how to throw axes, shoot a bow and arrow, and swing a sword, before everyone sat down for a salmon, shrimp and sausage barbecue.
About 90 minutes farther into the fjord, Hardingasete is a ridiculously perfect Hansel & Gretel-style log cabin hotel designed for small conferences. After a comfy night in the cabins, the group strapped on puffy parkas, helmets, harnesses and foot crampons for the climb up the glacier. Each person is tied to a rope with a big ice pick to help them along the route, while guides lead the way around the yawning crevasses. The braver of the group then rappeled into the ice, while the rest helped grill elk and salmon for a feast on the glacier. How’s that for a “ropes course”?
MONACO CRANKS UP THE GLAMOUR
Prince Albert II of Monaco married former South African Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock in July in Monte Carlo. Reception festivities took place in the Monte Carlo Opera House, available for group events. In anticipation of the nuptials, over $131 million was spent upgrading and renovating the many opulent venues operated by the Principality-owned Monte-Carlo SBM group.
We spoke to Cathleen Kelley, director of group sales, to get a grasp of the wide-ranging collection.
The group includes three 5-star properties: Hotel de Paris, Hotel Hermitage and Monte Carlo Beach, as well as the 4-star Monte Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort. The Hermitage received the bulk of renovation work and reopened this spring with a nod to the Belle Epoque, combined with high-tech group space.
“Hotel Hermitage is modern and classic at the same time, and each room is individually designed,” says Kelley. She proudly notes the new Le Vistamar restaurant won a Michelin star, saying, “The executive chef meets with the same family of fishermen every morning to purchase fish just out of the boat.”
The new Eiffel Salon venue is a design marvel because engineers had to dig straight down into bedrock to build the new function room, seating up to 340 pax with eight translation booths and an executive staff who “understand all cultural needs.”
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