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Use the agenda below to explore the schedule of events including educational sessions, evening events, award ceremonies, pre- and post-tours and more.
Certification
The CIS is an entry level certification program from SITE.
Professionals from around the globe will acquire in an efficient manner a broad comprehension of the incentive travel industry. All emerging professionals, faculty members and students aspiring to enter this specialized segment of the meetings and events industry may use CIS as a stepping stone to reach higher levels of professionalism.
Individuals will - in a two day seminar/workshop - learn the fundamentals of incentives, the origins of incentive programs and incentive travel, the value chain, the value proposition of motivational programs and non-cash awards, the composition of the market, the makings of a program and a program budget, industry tools and platforms and other valuable information.
Should you already be a professional with previous experience, CIS will provide you with elements to reach higher standards of education and industry best practice. CIS is designed for SITE members and non-members alike in the knowledge that SITE serves as a source of expertise, knowledge and personal connections that will catapult and sustain professional growth, and help build the value of extraordinary motivational experiences worldwide.
Dates: Thursday 10 and Friday 11 January 2019
Optional Tours
The CITP is a career-defining designation for mid to senior-level incentive travel professionals. It assures your clients that their investment in you comes with the knowledge and expertise to guarantee success. Separate application, registration and payment are required.
Break
First time attendees at SITE Global Conference are invited to a special welcome coffee break.
Receptions
Join us for The Opening Celebration at Nai Lert Park. Guests will enjoy a Thai culinary experience in one of the most beautiful green-space settings in Bangkok
Return transfer departing at 16:30 and returning at 20:30
Start your day with a Spiritual Merit Experience by way of presenting alms to Buddhist Monks. ‘Tak Bat” means giving alms and it is a way for Thai people to ‘give back’ by offering food to Buddhist monks who help teach others to be good and virtuous. SITE attendees will have the opportunity ‘give back’ and participate in this early morning experience. Your offering to the Monks is a parcel of food which will be prepared for you to present at this meaningful Ceremony. You are invited to donate a sum of money for the food preparation. Our team will collect your donation before you enter the ceremony.
Limited to 30 participants for the offering of food to the Monks.
Assembly: 06:15 at Salatip
Registration: Please register at SITE Hospitality Desk
Donation: Suggested donation of $10 to cover cost of the food offering
Plenary Session
Success, especially in today's fast-changing business environment, depends on our ability to make "creativity and innovation" a continuous process. Leaders want to know how their teams can rise above any challenge and succeed no matter what comes their way. Whether it's to embrace change, overcome obstacles, sustain growth, or take your success to the next level, they want to "Embrace the Shake".
The term "Embrace the Shake" is coined from Artist Phil Hansen's personal story of transformation. After developing a career-ending tremor in his drawing hand, Phil embraced his "shake" both physically and metaphorically by redefining his limitation as an impetus for creativity. Phil not only restored his artistic abilities, he became a much more creative and innovative artist than ever before. Upon sharing his message on the TED stage and millions subsequently after, "Embrace the Shake" has become a motto for many businesses to approach their limitations in a new way.
Phil's powerful message of finding creativity within limitations will inspire you to stop looking on the outside, and start looking inside yourself for resources that can transform your challenges into opportunities for success. Like Phil's art, "Embrace the shake" isn't just a talk, it's an experience!
Through jaw-dropping visuals and LIVE interactive art, get ready to break preconceived assumptions, activate your creative capacity, and bring fresh ways of viewing the task at hand that will culminate with success. Are you ready to Embrace your Shake?
Experience Level: All
This session is sponsored by SpeakInc
Lunch
Breakout Session 1
Authenticity has been cropping up on industry trend studies for the past couple of years and is now universally acknowledged as a key focus for qualifiers of incentive travel programs but also for us as individuals. In some aspect of our roles we are all sales people and as successful sales people we need to be flexible and adapt to the changing needs of clients, attendees and the industry landscape. The challenge is how do you change and be flexible but continue to be authentic? Is it possible? What does authenticity truly mean? Join an intriguing panel of our industry leaders who have strong views on what constitutes authenticity and learn how they stay focused on what is most important while managing the challenges in our ever so demanding industry.
Over recent years, blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies have generated significant excitement within many industries and fields. This is largely because it has the potential to dramatically change the way in which information or data is stored and used, enhancing transparency and security, while also improving transactions. During this session, we take a more detailed look at the various ways in which blockchain is being used, or is likely to be used, within the travel industry and the effect it could have on your business.
Demonstrating the business case for incentive travel can be challenging particularly when intangibles such as “deepening of professional relationships” and “increasing employee engagement” are desired outcomes. Join Catherine Jones of The Edventives Group and Dr. Kristin Winford, Organizational Architect, to discover how they developed a balanced scorecard protocol that was successfully used to establish metrics and prove ROI to key executives for a new incentive program.
Experience Level: Intermediate
Designing an incentive program begins with understanding the customer. Taking a deep dive into your customer’s values, brand, hopes and fears will form the foundation of your creativity. Join Damion Breust as he shares why and how using this information is crucial to selling the experience, not the destination.
Selling photocopy machines and selling incentive travel require radically different skills – one involves extolling the features of a tangible product, the other the benefits of an intangible dream.The highly energetic and interactive session begins with the presenters laying a strong foundation by sharing key tips and considerations to include when selling to the Incentive Market. The second half of the session challenges you to put these skills to the test as you demonstrate what you’ve learned in front of the presenters-turned-judges in a Shark Tank test.
Breakout Session 2
SITE Global Conference convenes the full spectrum of incentive travel professionals in one place, at one time. Neophytes and veterans, recently qualified and almost retired, project assistants and managing directors … we’re all here. The Ask the Experts Roundtable session is a valuable opportunity to gain insight into a new subject area or dive deep into conversation about a familiar one. Each table discussion will be guided by a different SME or subject matter expert but you’re encouraged to come prepared to share your own experiences and best practices with other incentive travel professionals Come to this session to share your challenges, ask your questions, and learn about best tips and tricks from your peers.
Differentiating yourself, your incentive programs, and your company in a field of competitors, is much more challenging today than ever before. Join Shawna Suckow, CMP and former 20-year planner, as she shares the insider secrets on how you can market anything differently to stand out in a sea of sameness. Whether you’re looking to market your programs to attract more participants, market yourself for better career opportunities, or market your business for greater success, you’re in the right place! Shawna’s spoken to audiences on five continents to help them strategize, market better, and sell more effectively. Whether you’re a planner or supplier, this session will position you better for the immediate future, as well as prepare you for coming shifts. You’ll learn new ways to use old tools that will save you lots of time and frustration.
Fads attract immediate attention but then quickly fade away. Trends, on the other hand, are sometimes less obvious but often are early signs of important, radical changes. If we can jump on a trend early enough we can surf that wave all the way to shore and build immense business success for ourselves. This session will look not only at the recent Incentive Travel Industry Index findings but also real world experience from a global perspective. We will explore the top things to look for to identify a trend and highlight what are the new trends on the horizon. Join this intriguing session to hear veteran incentive travel professionals discuss, debate and dialogue around the future of incentives with reference to this groundbreaking pan-industry study.
Stakeholder support is key to any projects success. Yet research shows that most project managers do not do a good job at identifying, much less effectively managing, relations with key stakeholders. This new addition to the SITE curriculum is a “who’s who” in the universe of incentive travel that will help you identify, prioritize, and classify incentive program stakeholders and better ensure the success of your programs.
Sponsored by:
Travel and hospitality have a massive effect on the supply of energy, water and food in destinations all over the world and our exacting requirements in the field of high end, luxury activities potentially leaves an even bigger waste footprint. We have a moral responsibility to do something about this as simply stated our global future depends on it. In this regard, sustainability is not really an option, it’s an obligation. This interactive panel discussion brings together incentive travel professionals from all over the world who proactively embrace sustainability as a welcome obligation. Hear inspiring ideas about giving back to communities both locally and internationally and learn how sustainability can make a real difference to qualifiers on incentive programs, the destinations they visit and, surprisingly, the bottom line of the companies they work for.
Breakout Session 3
A key criterion for destination selection has always been how safe and security the location is for incentive qualifiers and their significant others. However, over the decades we’ve seen how safety and security is often more linked to its relative perception than its actual reality. The media play a massive role in this and, overnight, reputations are often won and lost as a result of fake news and negative publicity. We’ve assembled a global panel of incentive travel professionals from destinations that have experienced reputational damage over the years. Learn how they’ve coped with this and continued to build profitable businesses despite the challenges.
The research is clear - incentive travel is an extremely effective tool to drive better business results. Studies consistently indicate that non-cash awards capture employees’ imaginations far more effectively than cash. This motivates employees to improve their performance in pursuit of the wonderful travel reward. However, the often-overlooked dimension to incentive programs is the learning & development element that ensure teams have the appropriate product knowledge to truly understand what they are selling. Learning & Development and travel incentives should be a seamless, fully integrated package. Attend this session to learn how incentive travel rewards and can be made even more enduring and impactful when paired with systematic learning and development programs.
Experience Level: Advanced
This participative session sets out all the features and benefits of SITE membership by taking an interactive live tour of SITE’s on-line assets - SITEGlobal.com and Motivate.com – and demonstrating how these extensive resources can be used to grow as an incentive travel professional, increase your MICE industry network, win more big ticket business and work advantageously with competitors. For anyone who is new to SITE or hasn’t yet unlocked their full potential within SITE, this shows you ways and means to make the association work for you and your business. Everyone is guaranteed to leave with new lessons and maybe even a few clients.
As ideas and innovations continue to explode on to the scene, what was once considered technology far-off in the distance is literally around the corner. Event professionals must decide both which technologies to implement to improve the attendee experience and new ways to encourage engagement.
This session is sponsored by Cvent
Sometimes the smallest changes can have the biggest impacts. In this session we share a collection of scientifically-based, practical stories about how small changes can actually make a big difference in your business: make your meetings more effective, spectacular or motivating, manage your clients better, or even just sell or save more. A global overview of the whole event industry, as well as studies conducted by social psychologists, neuroscientists and behavioral economists, will help you discover the little adjustments that can easily and immediately be put into practice to make a big impact on your whole business and life. Sometimes, you don’t need a big idea or a ground-breaking revolution: sometimes, all you need is just evolution.
Taste of Bangkok River
Guests will depart by rice barge from the dock at the Shangri-La Hotel to Lhong 1919 an incredible restoration project on the banks of the Chaopraya River where an evening of celebration and Thai culture will transport guests on an inspirational journey.
Boat transfer departing from 17:45 and returning 21:30
SITE Storytellers
Two incentive travel professionals share their stories.
Lost in Translation:
Sometimes, the best intentions can go horribly wrong, as they did in this memorable case. Damion offers practical lessons on how you can to turn disaster into opportunity, and walk away with an even stronger client relationship.
Living by Authenticity:
I love what I do, and it's a challenge to keep on loving what you do, whilst not getting caught up in the things that drain you. Chasing the dreams you have and keeping the focus on the relationship with people, is my most important factor in life. The meeting & events industry is full of so many cultures, so many people with so many stories. Stories I'd like to listen to, that I'd like to learn from and that I like to be part of. My problem..? I don't want to miss anything and I want to stay true to myself.
Learn about the steps in life that make you the person you are and how to ensure that you live by authenticity.
Cultural & Creative Immersion
Located in Charoenkrung 24 creative District of Bangkok, Soy Sauce Factory is a creative space that focus on art and design exhibitions from emerging young Artists from all over the world. Taken over by a creative agency; 56thStudio in 2018, Soy Sauce Factory is now a combination of design studios, gallery space and pop-up eatery.
P. Tendercool is a Rustic Gallery studio who make cross cultural creations of unique furniture and home décor showcasing talented local workmanship. Duangrit Bunnag, Thailand’s most famous architect, has transformed a 4,000-sq-meter space of abandoned World War 2-era warehouses in Charoenkrung Soi 30 into Warehouse 30.
Experience Level: All
The location for this Cultural & Creative Immersion is Thai Center for Design and Creativity was founded to integrate the ingeniousness of Thai society and culture with modern knowledge and technology. TCDC is, neither a school nor a research center, but a source of ‘intellectual entertainment’, inspiring and aspiring Thai society with creativity through international learning process; from exhibitions, talks, workshops, to a resource center sparking creativity in different dimensions.
Option 1: Take part in a sustainability creative workshop at FAB Cafe located in TCDC to learn how trash from incentive travel can be up-cycled to useful items using technology.
Option 2: Take part in a sustainability design workshop at the Material Innovation Centre located in TCDC to learn how to design a successful business plan with sustainability on top of mind.
Join us as we close out the SITE Global Conference 2019 with a dynamic Closing Plenary Session.
The Culture Gap and How to Fill It:
Our work as incentive travel professionals routinely brings us across borders to places we’re not familiar with. We push boundaries not just physically, but psychologically too, as we leave zip code and comfort zone behind and venture into the unknown! How many times have we been challenged to bring our clients to destinations we know nothing about? What are the questions we should be asking to prepare for these new experiences? As incentive travel professionals it’s our job to craft travel experiences that help attendees access the destination in meaningful, authentic and respectful ways. That means being truly prepared not just in logistics but also in the behaviours, customs and culture of the selected destination. We’re planners but also mediators. We’re bridge builders and facilitators. We must help our attendees ease into an unfamiliar culture and get the best out of it as this is where incentive travel can be truly transformational. In this session, Marine Debatte, Head of Events at BI WORLDWIDE APJ / China, will focus on the differences in values, behaviour, beliefs and customs between different culture both from an academic perspective and through real life examples. She’ll present the 3 keys to bridge the culture gap: regional expertise, language proficiency and cross cultural competence. By being more culturally aware, we’ll discover how to overcome barriers and better still, discover how diversity enriches our experience and deepens our humanity.
The Fiery Furnace:
Three incentive travel professional share their highly personal stories of how commitment, perseverance and dedication are the qualities needed to grow as a person and advance your career.
This session is sponsored by IHG
Guests will be invited to close the conference with a light cocktail reception in the relaxing surrounds of the Shangri-La's Poolside Deck. Guests are encouraged to dine around Bangkok for this final evening and our onsite team will assist with information on local restaurants.
Onsite event, no transfer required