Jerusalem poised to become Israel's incentive trips capital

The City of Jerusalem and Eshet Incoming have been awarded the opportunity to host the two trips after contending against Athens, and other global destinations.

Incentive Trips are considered the most profitable and fastest-growing segment of the tourism industry. The estimated contribution of the two trips to the Israeli economy is over $20 million before air travel.

Over the next 3 weeks, Israel will host some 8,300 tourists taking part in the two largest Incentive Trips ever held in Israel. As their name suggests, incentive trips are a common method used by corporations to reward outstanding employees and salespersons. With an average budget of $4,000 per tourist, this form of travel is considered as the “next big thing” of the tourism industry.

The trips will be organized by Eshet incoming with the support of the Jerusalem Municipality. Jerusalem was selected to host the trips after contending against other major global cities which vied for the lucrative trips. The projected contribution of the trips to Israel's economy in general and Jerusalem in particular, is more than $20 million, not including the tourists’ spending on air travel. Israel's capital won the coveted status following great efforts exerted by Jerusalem’s mayor, Moshe Leon and the financial support of the Jerusalem Development Authority and the Jerusalem and Heritage Ministry.

WSB, one of the world’s largest insurance and financial services companies and subsidiary of Transamerica organized the first and largest trip. Next week, WSB will bring 4964  salespersons for six nights in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The Mexican cosmetics and nutrition supplements giant, Omnilife, will bring 3,300 employees and salespersons for a six-night stay in Jerusalem alone. The two groups will stay at 32 hotels, travel with 140 guided buses and will keep hydrated with 70,000 bottles of mineral water.

Incentive travel is the fastest growing and most lucrative segment of the tourism industry, even more than conference tourism. 2018 saw an increase of 71% over 2017, whereas 2017 grew by 54% over the previous year. Some of the reasons behind the impressive growth include the high level of accommodation and ground services provided to participants, and the hassle-free experience for the tourists, who are left with significant funds to spend and boost the local economy.

The upcoming tours will also offer three rounds of gala events on September 15, 18 and 19. The Hinom Valley Park will be transformed into a replication of Kind David’s palace as part of a high profile, $2 million production of Super Push. Israel Airport Authority, the Immigration Authority and Security forces are also preparing to ensure a smooth reception for the guests.

Moshe Leon, Jerusalem’s mayor, said: “Increasing the number of tourists visiting Jerusalem is one of the City’s stated goals. Incentive trips play a major role in attracting tourism to Jerusalem and boosting its economy. We are unrelenting in our efforts to promote Jerusalem as a conference and tourism destination, including the construction of more hotel rooms to provide the best tourism experience".

Amnon Ben-David, CEO of Eshet Incoming, said, “We are proud to organize the two largest incentive trips to Israel, which we regard as strategically important for Eshet and Israel alike. Nations and cities are contending the hosting of incentive trips today with Israel facing twice the challenge because of its image as a security-sensitive country. Incentive trips have been declining since the 2008 crisis until two years ago when the industry started showing signs of significant recovery. Israel should do everything in its power to become part of this most profitable and fastest-growing segment of the tourism industry today.”

Incentive tips turned $60 billion in 2018. American companies account for 50% of the trips, European companies for 20% and the balance originates from Asian and South American companies. Some 100 incentive trips of different companies will arrive in Israel during 2019, most of them organized by Eshet Incoming Tourism. As a nascent player in this segment, most of the investments to date have been made by tourism operators, such as Eshet, which has even won the industry’s grand prize from the Society for Intensive Travel Excellence (SITE), the international trade association of incentive trips.

Over the past year, Eshet Incoming brought to Israel more than 30 incentive trips of global corporations, including Bosch-Siemens, Skoda, Renault, ASBA Bank, Bayer-Monsanto, Mercedes Spain, Porsche Spain, Unilever Brazil, Credit Agricola from France, Generali from Italy and many more.

The outlook for 2020 and 2021 is encouraging with numerous groups expected to arrive in Israel from the USA, Canada, Brazil, France, Italy, Germany, Russia, Poland, and more. 

Source: TravelDailyNews international