Essential to any overseas meeting or incentive program is a good working relationship with suppliers based in the destination, none more so than a destination management company. A DMC with solid connections and in-depth knowledge of the locale makes all the difference between success and failure, according to veteran planners of international events.
“Unless you have lived in the destination and have vendors there who you have worked with directly for many years, you need partners on the ground,” said Eli Gorin, international meetings consultant and chief operating officer of Far Horizons Tourism.
Carol Krugman, head of the department of hospitality, tourism and events at Metropolitan State University of Denver, agrees that having trusted local contacts is key.
“The key to any international endeavor is a solid, local support network, and this revolves around a really good DMC,” she said. “No one is better positioned to know the business practices and culture, the location and the safety and security aspects than someone who is there on the scene all the time.”
When looking for the right DMC partner, a good starting point is to get recommendations from other planners who have met in the destination. Useful sources for this are industry organizations such as MPI or SITE, or social media.
“Use every possible network that you have,” Krugman said. “Word of mouth among other planners is golden. Get on a discussion board and send the word out on what you need—’Have you ever done a 50-person event in Kuala Lumpur?’ We couldn’t do this kind of networking 20 years ago. Now we can.”
Kim Kondo, president of MFactor Meetings, finds industry tradeshows such as the Incentive Travel & Meeting Executives Show to be important sources for international contacts, including DMCs and other suppliers. Overseas site inspections also present opportunities.
“If we don’t know a location, we’ll spend a day of the site inspection with one DMC and a day with another DMC—it’s kind of like a dating situation,” she said.
Another important source for finding a good DMC, as well as an array of other partners on the ground, is the local tourism office, according to David Kliman, president of The Kliman Group.
“Whether you are planning for 10 people or 10,000, the DMO is your key to the destination,” he said. “With a simple e-mail or text message, say who you are and this is what I need: ‘I need a world-class DMC, please give me a list and let me interview them.’” Along with access to suppliers, overseas DMOs can provide a whole roster of meetings services that are sometimes more extensive than those provided by their counterparts in the U.S., according to Charles Chan Massey, CEO of SYNAXIS Meetings & Events.
“The overseas national tourist offices work a little differently than CVBs here—some are almost like corporations in that they have more freedom to make recommendations about suppliers,” he said. “And some of them have in-house services, including registration and off-site tours. So it’s great to have both the DMC and the DMO.”
Such local connections not only enhance a meeting, but may also prove crucial when a crisis arises, Massey added.
“There are many times when a DMC has saved us,” he said. “Once someone lost a passport at the airport in Dublin, and the DMC knew exactly who to call. They were able to track down the passport, which had been left at customs and immigration, and he got it back.”
During another overseas program, a problem was averted when table linens that were supposed to be in the exact colors of the client’s corporate branding were delivered in the wrong shade.
“This was discovered late at night before the event,” he said. “But to our amazement, the next morning the DMC walked in with linens in the correct colors. They knew which vendors to call and were able to get the linens made, sewed and dyed overnight.”
