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5a
DO YOU FEEL MORE INCLINED TO BOOK A MEETING AT A DESTINATION OR VENUE WHEN THE HOSTING ORGANIZATION HAS PAID YOURWAY FOR A SITE VISIT?
5b Yes 33% No 67% No 70%
DO YOU FEEL MORE INCLINED TO BOOK A MEETING AT A DESTINATION OR VENUE WHEN THE HOSTING ORGANIZATION HAS PAID YOURWAY FOR A FAMVISIT?
Yes 30%
But with schedules stretched tighter thanever these days,
and with CVB members clamoring for exposure to decision- makers in this still-shaky business-travel market, free time oftenis inshort supply ona fam-trip itinerary. “It’s kind of hard, because it’s just long days, and you walk an awful lot around everything,” Clements said. “I wish theywould give us a little free time. I know we’re there for business, but I wish we had some more free time.” Clements is part of a sizableminority—about one-third
of respondents to Convene’s survey said they preferred “a more relaxed schedule that gives me free time to experience the destination or venue on my own” as opposed to “a full
schedule that maximizes my time in the destination or venue.” (See Chart 7, p. 59.) If you do find a key site missing from an itinerary, you
should feel comfortable taking matters into your own hands and asking the host to tweak the schedule — as Maribeth Kraus, CMP, director of convention programs for the Mod- ern Language Association, says she’s done in the past. But taking that initiative wasn’t necessary for Clements’ trip
to Pittsburgh. The CVB was “very receptive to the different needs [of each fam-trip attendee],” she said. “They had asked us specifically what we were looking for…and kind of what different areas [did we] need to learn more about.”
A Supplier’s Perspective
With the help of Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI), Convene put out a call to destination management organizations to tell us what they do to ensure that their fam trips are worth a planner’s time. Nicole Smith, director of media relations and publications for the Midlands Authority for Conventions, Sports & Tourism—the CVB for Columbia, S.C.—offered a thoughtful response.
Meeting planners who attend fam trips with the Columbia CVB are always enthusiastic about the offerings our DMO provides.We’ve begun incorporating events where planners can receive CME credit and attend semi- nars pertinent to their occupation.
We also research the needs and desires of each par- ticipating organization and plan activities around these
56 pcma convene February 2011
needs and desires, showing them how our area can work for their meeting. Finally, we send out a pre-fam question- naire asking the participant what activities interest them most, and try to meet these desires.
Before our fam tours,we talk with our partners to ensure they know about our special guests, so that they can make their staff and property ready for display. In addition, we host biweekly meetings with our partners, and these are a great opportunity for us to address any concerns or issues they may have about our fam tours.
In order to make the experience enjoyable for the participant, we keep the fambusiness-casual, and do not mandate too many policies. Before we extend the invita- tion, we qualify each organization to ensure that they can have meetings in Columbia, and we keep our partners involved in the process.We discuss all possible scenarios as a staff and a destination prior to arrival, and try to have a plan of action in place.