According to The Beatles, money can't buy love - but it can provide indulgent luxury in some of Australia's most desirable destinations through incentive travel.
The goal of such travel is to ensure valued employees or clients are stimulated and inspired to go the extra mile or to maintain their business links - by exposing them to something completely different from what they experience in their everyday lives.
Australia's pull is powerful - recent research by global travel services company Expedia shows it is the country most likely to be on New Zealand travellers' bucket lists in the next five years. A whopping 47 per cent of respondents chose it - and Australia's high-end, out-of-the-box experiences provides a winning combination.
One successful luxury incentive held recently for New Zealand clients was driving the Great Ocean Road in Victoria in high performance sports cars, including Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Porsche, and Lotus. Nine cars were made available to 18 guests, with frequent changes so that everyone got to hop in the driver's seat of their dream car.
"Whether you are a motor enthusiast or not, driving a Ferrari along the Great Ocean Road is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that impresses everyone," says incentive organiser and Big Stick Adventures owner, Brett Hollis.
"Conde Nast Traveller voted this the best coastal drive on the planet so, when you add stops at stunning locations, visits to wineries, food producers and more it provides a world-class incentive hard to match. With the sun shining and roofs off the cars, all that the guests had to worry about was putting their foot down," he says.
For an out-of-this-world incentive, staying on a private island will give guests a taste of the billionaire lifestyle.
Sir Richard Branson's Makepeace Island is a private hideaway a few minutes upstream from Queensland's Noosa Heads. Originally developed as a private retreat for family and friends of the owner, a few years ago it opened its doors for others to experience it - but only on an exclusive-use basis.
The secluded 25-acre heart-shaped island can accommodate and entertain up to 22 castaways in opulence. Add to that a 500,000 litre lagoon pool, a tennis court, spa facilities, theatre, a private bar of giant proportions, plus Branson's own chef to cook meals.
"For our corporate clients, experiences are the 'new' luxury with incentive events now focusing on authenticity to drive motivation and achieve higher levels of performance," says Leasa Harris, Makepeace Island's general manager.
"The current demand for incentives is to create lasting impressions on delegates rather than buying them possessions; at Makepeace Island we do just that. Each incentive stay is a tailored experience specifically for the individual guest and activities are designed to keep the momentum going.
"It may be a sunset lake cruise, or an invitation to step in to our kitchen and learn the secrets of some of Sir Richard Branson's favourite dishes. The more out-of-the-box the offering, the more appealing it is to our clients. The focus for incentive events has very much shifted to experiential luxury packaged as an all-inclusive offering which is what we provide here," says Harris.
And whoever said diamonds are a girl's best friend must have never seen the products of the Paspaley Pearling Company. For more than 80 years it has produced the world's finest pearls, its name synonymous with Australian South Sea pearls, one of Australia's premier luxury exports.
Throughout the ages, wearing pearls showed you were a person of wealth and consequence; royalty has always worn them, and their allure is not confined to women; men and kings throughout history have been fascinated by them too. For the imaginative, pearls can be a metaphor - for the changing of the prosaic into a thing of beauty and, by extension, how to turn a misfortune into something valuable.
Incentive participants can take in a private Pearl Discovery Tour either at the Paspaley flagship boutique in Martin Place, Sydney, or the company's Darwin home. Interactive sessions include the history and heritage of pearling and viewing the legendary Paspaley Pearl, the finest South Sea pearl ever found.
"Guests will discover our pearling heritage; learn 'The Five Virtues' which is the traditional method by which all fine pearls are graded and begin their journey to becoming true pearl connoisseurs. They will also have an incredibly rare chance to taste pearl meat - one of the world's most exclusive seafoods," says James Paspaley, executive director of the Paspaley Group.
Money may not be able to buy love - but it can buy experiences building long-lasting relationships between incentive planners and their clients.
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