Event brief
A Polish incentive house contacted Kuala Lumpur-based DMC, Within Earth Holidays, to organise a memorable seven-day programme in Malaysia for their client, a food manufacturer, who wished to incentivise their top distributors.
Event highlights
As this was the first visit to Malaysia for all 55 delegates, the programme was designed to showcase Malaysia’s natural attractions, history, architecture, beach and city experiences.
The delegates arrived in Singapore on February 17 and travelled by coach to Malacca. They enjoyed a guided tour of the historical city, visiting sites such as Bukit China, Porta de Santiago, Church of St. Paul, and the Stadthuys Building. That evening, Within Earth Holidays took them on a river cruise.
On the second day, the group travelled by coach from Malacca to Putrajaya, where they went on a half-day tour. They then continued onwards to Kuala Lumpur for another half-day tour. Highlights in Kuala Lumpur included photo stops at the King’s Palace, the National Monument, and the iconic Petronas Twin Towers.
The third day brought the group to Cameron Highlands, where they enjoyed the cool mountain air and visited a tea plantation, Butterfly Park, and strawberry farm.
On the fourth day, the group went on a guided jungle trek in Taman Negara National Park during the day, as well as a night walk in the tropical rainforest, where they spotted several nocturnal animals.
The fifth day included a brief stop at the Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary, where delegates learned about the conservation efforts for wild elephants by the Department of Wildlife and National Park. After lunch, the group returned to Kuala Lumpur and flew to Langkawi, where they spent the night.
The sixth day was spent enjoying the beach and taking a cable car ride up Mount Machinchang. The final day saw the delegates return to Kuala Lumpur to fly home.
Challenges
Saini Vermeulen, Within Earth Holidays’ executive director, recounted a last-minute scramble. Their pre-booked hotel in Taman Negara, secured six months in advance, had no record of the reservation.
Saini said: “There weren’t any other comparable four-star hotels available. This forced us to adjust the itinerary, impacting the planned route.”
“We opted to take the group to Cameron Highlands first, followed by Taman Negara the next day. They then returned to Kuala Lumpur by land before flying to Langkawi. Our initial plan involved a more cost-efficient overland route from Cameron Highlands directly to Langkawi. However, the hotel, acknowledging their error, generously covered half the return airfare as a gesture of goodwill. We absorbed the remaining cost.”
Just a week before the group’s arrival, a senior staff member managing the account was hospitalized with heart and lung complications. This unfortunate event coincided with the busy Chinese New Year period, when Within Earth Holidays was already stretched thin, handling over 30 leisure groups simultaneously. This unexpected situation resulted in a temporary staff shortage.
Because of this Saini had to multi-task and oversee details prior to the group’s arrival.
He added: “Adding to the challenges, the incentive house from Poland requested a live band for the very first night’s dinner in Kuala Lumpur at the 11th hour. Finding a band during the festive season is no easy feat. Fortunately, we managed to secure a talented group of buskers to perform for the evening.”
Event Incentive Trip 2023
Organiser Within Earth Holidays
Venue Malaysia
Dates February 17-23, 2024
Attendees 55
During his career, Chavy has held leadership positions with groups such as Travel+Leisure, Mövenpick, and Hilton.
He has held key positions in some of the group’s most prestigious properties during his tenure.
He joins The Sanchaya from his previous tenure as director of sales – Asia at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group in Bangkok.
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