9th Asia Trophy 2024 (photos by Mattias Nutt)
Event brief
Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau’s (SCIB) annual destination showcase, known as the Asia Trophy, is highly regarded for various reasons – it presents a precious opportunity to experience some of the country’s best destinations and venues for corporate events alongside unique group activity ideas; experiences are presented in an exciting game format that encourages team-bonding; and is only open to an incentive travel professional once in his/her professional lifetime.
Highlighted destinations are determined through a bid, and the bureau makes an effort to spotlight different locations across mountain, city and resort areas every year – all to emphasise the accessibility of the country’s diverse landscape.
For the 9th Asia Trophy 2024, SCIB committed the programme to accomplish several aims: to demonstrate the ease of access to highlighted destinations and venues, the short travel distances within Switzerland, and the outstanding local public transport system; the wealth of authentic experiences in cities and in spectacular natural landscapes; state-of-the-art facilities; security and political safety in Switzerland; and Switzerland’s environmental credentials and commitment to sustainability.
Event highlights
The 9th Asia Trophy 2024 kicked off in Geneva with serious business first – incentive event professionals in attendance connected with event-ready suppliers and destination representatives from around Switzerland at a B2B meeting hosted at Grand Morillon Student Residence for the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. It was an opportunity for SCIB to show off the venue’s flexibility for corporate events as well as its million-dollar view of Lake Geneva, the Alps and the Swiss Jura.
Once the meetings were done and dusted, the countdown to fun began. Every venue and experience showcase was worked into a fast-paced competition, where teams had to find their way around the city, complete tasks, and tackle a quiz at every stop. This format took away the monotony of traditional show-and-tell site inspections.
The games master kicked off the competition in Geneva after lunch at the romantic Kiosque du Parc des Bastion. Tasks included a fact-finding exercise and painting challenge at Mandarin Oriental, Geneva; watch assembly at Initium; and chocolate tasting at La Bonbonnière Chocolaterie.
I was part of Team Bell. There were five teams altogether comprising event planners from Malaysia and Vietnam. Dashing and stumbling through day one’s challenges brought us plenty of comedy along the way, and I dare say we built some solid friendships and team spirit within those few hours.
The exhilarating day concluded with a dinner party at the La Reserve Hotel & Spa, where spirits rose higher and delegates took over the stage and dance floor with their impromptu performances.
The 9th Asia Trophy moved to Lausanne by train the next day, and competitors gathered in the old town for the rally flag-off. This time, participants had to identify gruyere from a platter of similar-looking cheese; knock apples off the top of a staff with a crossbow in front of the Palais de Justice (where a statue of William Tell stands); and complete a string of quizzes and challenges at Clos de la Republique wine estate within the picturesque UNESCO World Heritage Site Lavaux vineyards.
The third and last day of the rally was perhaps the highlight for every participant, as a breathtaking scenic ride on the GoldenPass Express was planned between Montreux and Gstaad, followed by snow games at Glacier 3000, situated more than 3,000m above sea level. Teams were welcomed in the charming village of Gstaad with alphorn performances, friendly Saanen goats, and generous servings of local cheese and wine before moving on to the iconic mountain station. Snow golf and pelting wooden cows were easy games, while the bonus task was to get on the Peak Walk by Tissot, the world’s first suspension footbridge to span two summits.
Although there were strong winds and heavy snow that day, blocking off views of the Alps, I doubt any participant would trade that experience for anything else.
As the games drew to a close, teams and organisers gathered at The Olympic Museum in Lausanne, where guests were invited to tour the exhibits before sitting down for the awards dinner (Team Chalet with Thai buyers won). High jinks from day one resurfaced later that night, with participants tearing up the dance floor and the braver ones taking over the mic.
Challenges
One can appreciate the complexity of planning and executing this gamified destination showcase for 57 incentive travel professionals from 11 Asian countries.
Regina Lai, project manager – meetings & incentives, destination weddings with Switzerland Tourism and an instrumental figure in the 9th Asia Trophy, said setting the event dates alone presented a major challenge.
The event overlapped with the Thai national holiday of Songkran.
Lai said: “It is never an easy task to set dates for such an event, which consists of a three-day programme plus long-haul travel. There is no perfect period that fulfils the needs of all Asian regions, thus some markets will face the occasional challenge with the chosen dates.
“The solution was to move forward the invitation process for the Thai market. Our Bangkok-based market manager started the selection and invitation process early to give sufficient time for communications with clients and agents.”
SCIB’s MICE manager, South-east Asia, Dominique Oi, shared similar reflections with attendee coordination.
“We had to select all South-east Asian buyers within the same time frame and match them with the correct team, and then secure regional and long-haul flights that will bring them to Zurich around the same time. We had to consider that buyers from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam required a transit in Singapore to get to Zurich,” Oi elaborated.
To get around the attendee selection stage, the SCIB team worked closely with its partner Kuoni Tumlare for each market, and buyer selection was completed in two or three stages within the set timeline.
To ensure seamless air journeys, SCIB engaged a ticketing agency in Singapore to assist with flight and transit arrangements, as well as accommodation for Vietnamese buyers, who had an overnight transit in Singapore before returning to their home city.
Lai presented yet another challenge: the weather conditions at Glacier 3000. Three plans were laid out, each according to potential weather conditions. In good weather, the organisers would take the group to Glacier 3000 by cable car and proceed with snow games as planned. In bad weather but without disruptive winds, rally contestants would still ascend by cable car but games would be moved indoors at the peak.
In the event of extreme weather, organisers would give up the scenic cable car ride to Glacier 3000 and settle for indoor games at the restaurant near the cable car station or its vicinity.
SCIB and the experienced team from Glacier 3000 closely monitored the weather conditions in the days leading up to May 21, when snow games were scheduled to take place.
On the morning of May 18, an emergency meeting was held and a decision was made to provide attendees with additional warm clothing and winter accessories. This was due to a forecast of strong winds, with temperatures dipping to -20 °C.
“Various partners got involved to ensure prompt delivery of all the items to the hotel in Lausanne,” said Lai.
On May 21, a team from Switzerland Tourism arrived at Glacier 3000 three hours ahead of the participants for a final decision and setup. Eventually, a fourth plan was devised.
“Plan D was efficiently drawn up, with outdoor games at restaurant Pillon during lunch time, followed by group ascension to Glacier 3000 for a visit and experience. Warm drinks were served on the glacier with the option to stay indoors while others could choose to experience the Peak Walk or go sledging,” said Lai.
Event 9th Asia Trophy 2024
Organiser Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau
Venue Various venues across Geneva, Lausanne and Gstaad
Date April 18-22, 2024
Attendance 57 incentive travel professionals from 11 Asian countries
Following a successful first year, Auckland’s Destination Partnership Programme, developed by Tātaki Auckland Unlimited as an interim funding solution to attract leisure travellers and business events to the region, will be extended.
Businesses can now register for the second year of the programme, starting July 1, 2024.
The first year of the programme generated NZ$1.9 million (US$1.1 million) from more than 140 businesses from across the visitor economy sector – including local tourism operators, accommodation providers, business event service providers, and venues. Platinum Partners in year one included Accor Hotel Group, Cordis Auckland, Hospitality Services, SkyCity Group, and Auckland Airport.
Annie Dundas, director of destination at Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, said that the programme has been critical to delivering important activity on behalf of Auckland’s visitor economy.
She said: “By joining forces with the industry, we can continue to position Auckland as a destination of choice for leisure travellers and business events in an incredibly competitive environment globally.
“Reflecting on our first year, we are thrilled with the support from industry, from major players such as Auckland Airport and the SkyCity Group, through to smaller operators like Time Unlimited Tours and Beyond the Blue. We want to build on this success and extend the offer and opportunity to the wider industry to share in and support Auckland’s success.”
Taking feedback into consideration, the extended programme will come with two new partnership levels to enable smaller or emerging businesses, such as restaurants, retail or business services, to be part of Auckland’s tourism success story.
There are seven levels of partnership on offer, starting at a free Partner Listing. The two new partnership levels are Love AKL, for small and emerging tourism businesses, and those businesses indirectly benefiting from tourism and events, such as retail and restaurants; and Destination Services Partner, for tourism marketing and support providers, including web design and accounting suppliers.
Partnership benefits vary by level, ranging from a basic business listing on Discover Auckland – Tātaki Auckland Unlimited’s online platform which carries destination information, to opportunities across marketing, sales and promotion; tradeshows; education and insights; networking and events (local and international); and advocacy and governance.
The programme funds a robust itinerary of consumer and trade marketing activity in the domestic, Australia and North America markets especially, as well as the attraction of business events to the Auckland region.