A winter sojourn

The only way to minimise the impact of supply chain disruptions resulting from the pandemic was to plan and book ahead, which is what Apple Vacations & Conventions did when it organised an incentive trip for 35 qualifiers to South Korea recently

Delegates at Alpensia Resort
Delegates at Alpensia Resort

Event Brief
A Malaysian outbound DMC, Apple Vacations & Conventions was tasked by floor tiles supplier Guocera to organise an 8D/6N incentive trip for 35 qualifiers. The itinerary covered three destinations, Seoul, Jeju Island and Pyeongchang.

Apple Vacations & Conventions group managing director, Koh Yock Heng, shared that the client had requested for an Asian destination so that the qualifiers could experience winter in all its glory, because for many of the qualifiers, it was to be their first winter experience.

Event highlights
A day after arriving in Incheon, delegates headed to Wolmi Island, located just off the coast of Incheon. There, they got to experience the Wolmi Sea Train, the longest urban sightseeing monorail in South Korea. The 6km route offered many scenic views and photo opportunities.

Delegates were also taken to the Pyeongchang Olympic Market for a glimpse of local culture and a taste of authentic Korean food. Pyeongchang was previously the location for the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Experiencing winter was an important aspect of the trip, so two days were dedicated to skiing and snowboarding at Alpensia Resort, located in the township of Daegwallyeong-myeon in Pyeongchang county.

Delegates were also shown other facets of Seoul from the water while on the E-Land Han River Cruise; going on rides at Lotte World Indoor Theme Park; as well as heading up 555m to the observation deck of Lotte World Tower to take in a panoramic view of the city.

A dose of Korean culture was also included with a guided tour of Deoksugung Palace, where the group learnt about the attraction’s history and architecture.

The last two days were spent in Jeju, where activities included a visit to the Arte Museum, tangerine plucking at Father’s Garden, as well as souvenier shopping.

Challenges
Koh recalled that organising an incentive event a few months after borders had just reopened presented some challenges. For one, flight capacity and frequencies between Kuala Lumpur and Seoul had not returned and many hotels in South Korea were not fully operational due to staffing shortages. Restaurants were also experiencing the same thing.

Koh shared: “Pre-pandemic, we could easily organise an overseas incentive in two months or less, but this was now impossible as there were limitations in getting flights, accommodation and making reservations in hotels. We needed a bigger lead time of six months, so we proposed to the client to departure dates in January 2023.”

He added that it helped that the DMC had strong connections with Korean Air and was able to secure the seats. With the additional lead time, Koh and his team were also able to secure more upscale hotels and better restaurants in all three of the destinations the group visited.

Event Guocera Sdn Bhd Korea Incentive Trip 2023
Organiser Apple Vacations & Conventions
Dates January 3-10, 2023
Attendance 35

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