Corporate Travel Destinations

Different cultures have developed different business habits and trends, a fact that still needs to be contended with in our modern corporate environment. While globalization has certainly reduced the overall number of differences between different cultures and their meeting styles by allowing a freer flow of ideas, it still falls to the meeting planners to understand the different concepts different cultures have about time and business etiquette.

For example, in the United States and England meetings start and stop at a pre-appointed time regardless of nearly anything else. In fact, some sketch comedy troupes have made fun of this reliance on time be showing whole middle management teams unable to leave a burning meeting room because it was not yet time or suffering some similar fate while bound to the tick-tock of a clock.

In some European cultures, particular Spain and Italy, meetings might begin at a predetermined time or perhaps a little later but they do not end until a resolution has been reached. This means that scheduling an afternoon meeting might be taken as a sign of low significance by some as there is always the likelihood that a morning meeting would run long. In some Asian cultures time is less important and meetings might begin whenever all parties are ready and may end for any reason or for little discernible reason at all.

If you have heard of incentive cruises but are not entirely sure what they are, then you might have a lot to think about when you discover what an incentive cruise is. Simply put, an incentive cruise is a cruise that is offered as an incentive for meeting certain goals or criteria/criterion. Incentive cruises can be offered to employees, partners, suppliers, customers, and even potential recruits. Here are some interesting thoughts regarding incentive cruises from multiple points of view:

• Employees and recruits tend to view incentive cruises as a major perk and fringe benefit, and it can also be considered a source of inspiration. Those workers that meet the requirements to go on an incentive cruise are often the standard to which other employees hold themselves.
• Partners and supplies may value their business relationship more with partners that show a willingness to build rapport and look at the big picture. This could prove vital in cases where globalization or other factors shift the position of a company in a volatile market.
• Valued customers may feel a similar connection to a company that shows just how much their business is valued by offering incentive cruises to their top clients. In some industries these types of incentives are even the norm, but in others that are niceties that separate the serious players from the rest.

One of the best benefits of having cruise events is that, well, they are cruise events! This means that everyone gets to have a great time and escape their daily grind, unless they happen to work on a cruise ship. Since the chances of that rare occurrence seem remote at best, the simple fact of the matter is that anyone attending cruise events is likely to be inspired. In fact, even those that are not invited along for the cruise event are likely to be inspired. Consider the following:

Partners and suppliers that meet key goals and are offered a limited number of cabins on cruise events are likely to value the business relationship in terms that are measured in more than just dollars and cents. This can be very valuable as globalization continues to cause long-term market readjustments that can allow for fierce competition from new adversaries overnight.

Employees can be inspired by the opportunity to travel on the company dime, especially when it involves cruise events and rubbing elbows with the top brass. The stories they tell when they get back are likely to prove inspirational in their own right.

Executives and top talent are likely to consider cruise events to be perks, even if a little work or a few meetings are involved.