1. Client: IVECO Spain
Venue: Singapore, Malacca and Kuala Lumpur
Number of guests: 160
Date: March 2014
Aim: the annual Company trip rewarding the best Managers comprising
sightseeing, meetings and gala dinner to encourage sales in Asia.
Event:
Starting from September 2013, I personally assisted a European vehicle
company to design and deliver the ‘’Asian’’ experience.
Objectives:
To design and execute a high-energy rewarding programme, delivering the
messages of "being determined and bold "and "thinking out of the box".
Challenges and implementation
The client was evaluating two destinations for this event: Mexico, which offers
charter flights from Spain and a very competitive price for tourist services, and
Singapore and Malaysia, two of the most expensive tourist destinations in South
East Asia. Therefore, the initial challenge was to persuade the client to choose
Singapore and Malaysia.
The second challenge was to negotiate with all the suppliers involved (buses,
restaurants, hotels, museums, tour guides, boat company), a competitive price in
order to make the price attractive for the client.
After two months, the client eventually confirm the group to Singapore and
Malaysia.
During the site-inspection in Singapore three day before the group arrival, I was
with our client, the person in charge for event at Iveco, showing him all the
arrangements made in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. It was Saturday night, we
were visiting the last restaurant for the gala dinner but the client didn’t like it at
all so he asked me to find an alternative venue. A deposit to the restaurant was
already paid and they didn’t grant any refund. It was 10pm so I had to keep the
situation under control and find another venue without extra costs for our
company. At the last , 40 minutes later, we were at another restaurant facing the
stunning Singapore skyline, the live band playing and the restaurant director at
our disposal. The client liked and confirmed the venue suggested with no extra
costs.
Coordinating and planning the arrival and movement of 150 of Iveco’s best
Managers in different cities with 4 buses, 8 tour guides and the other suppliers
involved keeping the momentum ‘’increasing’’ was a tough challenge.
Result
The event went well, and the gala dinner went late into the night and everyone
had a great time. Feedback from the client was very positive; the event achieved

2. the original intention of the programme, including the importance of the
company's messages for action, competing together and, of course, fun.
***
In October 2013 , after 2 years working at Insight Borneo, a leading Destination
Management Company in Malaysia, I got promoted as Inbound Manager.
Since the Company foundation in 1989, the owner was entirely committed in
organizing events throughout Malaysia and a lack in the Company structure left
space for an unengaged team with no motivation of going to work.
With this new position, I had in my hands the opportunity of giving my
contribution to the Company according to my values and beliefs.
As Manager, the first thing I did was creating a ‘’moral contract’’ with my team: I
listened each of them in a one-to-one meeting committing myself to transform
their problems within the Company as opportunities for them.
I spent hours listening them, listed all the aspects they were willing to improve
and communicated an action strategy to change the company for the better.
In that moment I felt like if I had an empty box in my hands to be filled with
happiness and motivation. I had to set a Company culture.
They didn’t realize it but meeting after meeting we were working again as a team
setting up our Company mission, vision and core values.
I was happy because I saw them happy to start talking again, voicing out their
opinion: they felt again an active part of the company.
To keep the momentum, I printed our ‘’credo-card’’ so everyone could remind
themselves our Company identity:

3. From the first day I start working in Tourism, I always worked as the Company
were mine. I always strived to look forward and beyond my position as employee
in order to understand what was surrounding me.
In 2013 the Company closed the financial year with its minimum sales record.
I was not the owner and nobody asked me to do anything but I started analyzing
our sales record by country and I soon realized that we were depending by one
market only…too risky considering the economic crisis was hitting Europe.
Firstly I analyzed the European countries with the highest tourist arrivals to
Malaysia: the U.K. was in my list.
Secondly I researched the three best U.K. tour operators selling tourist services
in Malaysia and tried to figure out whom their local suppliers were and how to
win them.
Based on this research, I’ve notice that the tour packages offered by our
competitors were all similar to each other. So I finally I got to use my destination
expertise and a creative thinking for design a few tour packages using a
penetration price strategy.
I soon tried networking with some U.K. tour operators to be ‘’visible’’ in the
market. In particular there was one interested me the most. They were the #1
tour operator in U.K. selling Malaysia. So I got the email of the product manager
and start emailing him but unfortunately my hope to receive a reply did not
materialized.
I didn't give up. I kept emailing him every month.
My goal was letting him understand that someone in Malaysia was ready to wow
them with a different product and an excellent customer service.
After 8 or 9 months without reply, I was losing the hope but finally one day I
received an email: it was him asking for meeting me in Malaysia.
By January 2015 our company sales come from a 10% from the U.K. market and
this important U.K. tour operator became our partner.
Innovation, creative thinking and a ‘’out-of-the-box’’ approach were the magic
formula to achieve a little piece of personal satisfaction.