Alex Agertoft, Sales and Marketing Executive at Black Tomato Agency shares his insight on how brands and agencies can create the best travel incentives.
The best incentives aren’t just about the destination. They’re about finding the right angles to make that destination a motivator, irrespective of personal interests. They’re about maximising engagement, creating intrigue and excitement and most importantly, they’re about getting the most bang for your buck.
Couple this with the ever-increasing impact of Millennials and now Gen-Z on the workplace, it’s clear that today’s incentive travel attendees are more comfortable than ever to stand out from the crowd, seek out authentic experiences and celebrate what makes them unique. A one-size-fits-all mindset just won’t cut it.
Take Morocco for example; the gateway to Africa, it occupies the ‘Goldilocks’ zone. Close enough to make it onto any Euro-focused shortlist, exotic enough to get your attendees out of their comfort zone, affordable enough to be accessible, and intrepid enough to offer excitement at every turn.
For the human connection
Morocco’s capital of chic and one of the most stimulating cities in the world – Marrakech is a constant source of inspiration to its inhabitants and visitors alike. Over 2 million tourists a year visit the Red City so we work hard to continually reinvent and ensure we offer once-in-a-lifetime experiences that are unachievable from personal travel.
Whether you’re seeking design inspiration or looking to bring a dash of creative flair to your business, we look beyond Marrakech’s medina to connect you with the designers, artisans and entrepreneurs at the heart of the city’s creative community. It’s these local connections and human interaction that provide you with a new perspective and ensure you return home with more than just a tan.
For the digital detox
Visitors come to Morocco as much to relax and get away from it all as for the adventure on offer. Whether you’re rising early for sun salutations and yogic breathing at a surf camp in Taghazout or partying into the night at your own private camp in the Agafay desert—give yourself over to the feeling of freedom brought about by patchy Wi-Fi and no 4G.
You might never have opened yourself up to the idea of wellness, but it’s hard not to feel a shift in perspective when you’re existing beneath the sheer majesty of North Africa’s greatest mountain range.
For the adrenaline junkies
For those burning to go beyond the edge, Morocco is the ultimate adventure playground. Beneath the snow-capped jagged peaks of the High Atlas, you’ll be roaring through the Agafay desert in a selection of high-octane off-road vehicles.
In the nearby mountains, Terres D’Amanar offers you a veritable smorgasbord of adventure activities including mountain biking, zip-lining and horse riding. And if those don’t whet your appetite, then we can put together a crack team of mountain guides, sherpas and cooks to keep you in relative luxury on hikes of varying degrees of difficulty.
Morocco’s coastline offers plenty of adventure too. Blessed with year-round sunshine and amazing waves, the laid-back fishing village of Taghazout has emerged as the country’s surfing mecca. Whether you’re in search of barrelling point breaks or prefer to seek solace in the white water, there’s a wave for all abilities.
For the real local experience
We don’t offer formulaic city tours to tourist traps for ten-a-penny generic postcard photos. We want you to glimpse the heart of Fez’s intricate old town. A truly local experience, just the right amount outside your comfort zone.
Setting foot on the riotous streets of Fez medina can be a disorientating experience for the uninitiated. Fear not. Led by the best-connected guides in the country, you’ll see the city the way only a local can. They’ll have you dodging trolleys that hurtle down steep old town alleyways, take you off the beaten track for a quiet moment amidst the mosques and expertly navigate you through bustling local markets with some bartering tips and tasting sessions thrown in along the way (we drew a firm line at the plate of sheep brain though).
For the bucket list
It’s a human need to explore; to discover new and unseen destinations. But sometimes the reality of getting off the beaten track can be overwhelming, not least because of the levels of organisation required to do something for the first time. The good news is, this isn’t our first camel train.
We encourage you to go beyond the limits of your imagination for experiences that will live long in your memory. Heading into the vast expanse of the Sahara might feel like a leap into the unknown, but creating your own Blink camp in the shadow of the towering dunes of Erg Chebbi will surpass even your wildest desert dreams. What these desert camps lack in the way of marble bathrooms and infinity pools, they more than make up for with the true modern luxuries of silence and space.
For some social responsibility
Increasingly employees are expecting more out of their job than a payslip at the end of each month and consumers prefer to do business with corporations and brands they see as socially responsible. If you want to engage, develop and retain the best talent out there, then the creation of a culture of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to match the core values of your socially-minded workforce is an unmissable opportunity.
In Morocco, you can play a small part in helping the local community. 0.5% of the total price of your trip is donated to support the Centre Fiers et Fort; a centre that supports underprivileged children in the village of Tamesloht. It might not sound like a huge amount but it’s quite a sum when you add it up over the thousands of guests we’ve sent to Morocco over the years.
If you would like to get personally involved then contact Alex Agertoft on alex@blacktomatoagency.com
