Business incentive trips spark industry optimism
By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
The number of visitors coming to Hawai'i as a bonus or reward for their work back home is up and tourism officials hope it's a sign of better times ahead.
Advertiser library photo • Nov. 4, 2002
In March, 15,866 visitors came on so-called "incentive" trips — the largest turnout since April 2000. At its lowest point in the past four years, only 1,906 incentive travelers visited in September 2001, the same month as the terrorist attacks.
Business travelers, including those who get Hawai'i vacations from their employers as rewards, are especially sought because they tend to spend more than the typical leisure vacationers.
Although the number of incentive travelers remains small, it's an important market made up of higher-spending visitors who are backed mostly by U.S. corporations.
In general, a strong incentive market tends to reflect corporate confidence.
"I look at them as a canary in the coal mine," said Joseph Toy, president of Hospitality Advisors LLC, which tracks hotel trends.
But this year is different.
Typically, a strong leisure market tends to be followed by corporations' willingness to spend money on things such as employee rewards and incentives.
"The incentive market tends to grow after sustained periods of corporate profits," Toy said. "And we haven't really seen that yet."
Instead, companies that have booked trips this year tend to spend less overall.
"Larger companies are sensitive to where they go," said Donn Takahashi, vice president/regional director of Prince Resorts Hawaii. "They're conscious of wanting to go to Hawai'i, where there's a lot more visibility, and they're concerned about the message they're sending."
Prince Resorts properties on the Big Island and Maui have tended to see smaller companies, such as auto parts and hardware dealers, who are bringing fewer people, staying shorter periods and cutting down on activities.
"Instead of five nights, they're now staying four nights," Takahashi said. "Instead of lots of functions, now maybe there's a welcome reception and gala dinner and more free time."
Hawai'i tourism officials have been trying to expand the incentive markets for almost two decades. Many of the resorts on Maui, Kaua'i and the Big Island were designed in the 1980s and 1990s "with fairly good-sized ballrooms and meeting space," Toy said.
Now Hawai'i faces intense competition from places such as the Caribbean and Mexico.
"It's an area we do want to penetrate more," Toy said. "They're a very high-yield market that tends to spend a lot of money."
Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085.
