People all over the world are struggling with the effects of the recession. It has hit the United States pretty hard and many people are just grateful to have a job. Incentive travel is a good means to lift the spirits of your staff and keep them motivated to do more locally and globally.

Many corporations select a charity and sponsor various events to raise money or supplies for their cause. This could be through employee blood donations or food donations or outright monetary gifts. Philanthropic gestures can be combined with incentive travel. Exotic locations offer the opportunity for tourists to help the local economy in personal and significant ways.

Philanthropic travel can be part of a team building exercise. Designating an afternoon during an incentive trip to get involved with a local charity just makes people feel better about themselves, creating a special bond between visitors and locals. Offering a local organization a “hands-on” rather than a hand-out is a show of respect for their efforts and leaves their dignity intact.

Try matching a local cause with one at your travel destination. For example, hunger is a world wide concern. The team that volunteers with a soup kitchen away from home returns more compassionate and wiser than when they left home.

Although it may be true that a client could book her own incentive vacation tour to Egypt, making sure that she included everything Egypt has to offer would be difficult without a lot of research. And that is your job, anyway–research the richness of Egypt for future incentive travel, and you will have a pocket of the Pharaoh’s gold in your destination file.

One reason this country is so rich with sightseeing is that so much has been preserved. The Sphinx have sat for thousands of years awaiting for travelers (over 20 miles of them in Luxor!), and they will be there for the next thousand years. Egyptian tombs, temples, statues, hieroglyphs, and other ancient arts and architecture are like no other in the world, so your client would not want to miss important ones just because he didn’t have time to research it all. Read the rest of this entry »

With a population of over two million, the city of Lisbon is a fantastic travel destination for all forms of corporate events. Portugal is increasingly becoming a popular tourist spot for business travelers willing to exchange business ideas and host important corporate events. The overall ambience of Lisbon is absolutely fascinating, and is sure to soothe the nerves of stressed out corporate executives. You can be certain that this is a place where business will meet pleasure, both complementing each other.

This beautiful city stands on seven enchanting hills rising from the northern bank of the Tagus River. Most of the suburban areas of Lisbon offer wonderful views of the magnificent sea and is a great place where you can talk about business as you calm your nerves.

You would never guess looking at the casual ambience of the city that it is the country’s centre for politics, economics, as well as culture- quite a pleasant surprise for the onlooker! Lisbon is known as the city of contrasts, and this title sure adds to the charm. Read the rest of this entry »