Case Study

Naoura Barriere

The Brief:

To organise an incentive trip to a 'wow' destination.  The trip was to be a fun incentive that involved interesting activities and cultural experiences, but incorporated a business element.

Challenges:

To select a unique destination and to develop a full and exciting programme that varied over the 3 1/2 day event offering business related activities and diversity in terms of food and excursions.  It was essential to ensure the delegates were learning over the 3 1/2 days but were always entertained and pleased with the dining options, especially in a city like Marrakech where Moroccan style cuisine is limited.

The language barrier also proves to be an ongoing challenge in itself.

Solution:

Marrakech was chosen as a destination because it offered something different.  It was a diverse destination that not many of the delegates were likely to have been to before.

The Naoura Barriere Hotel was selected because of it's ideal location, right in the Medina which is where most of the activities took place.  The hotel was also chosen as it is one of the newest hotels and perfect for a small group as it's a smaller hotel offering guests that personalised experience.

Execution:

We wanted to take the delegates out of the standard conference and offer them an activity based conference and incentive.

We devised a programme that included a number of interesting activities that blended well with the business element.

On the first day delegates participated in a Medina Challenge. This involved teaming up into groups and going out into the markets with a shopping list of items to buy with an allowance of 1000 Dirhams.  Teams had to take photographs along the way and the first team back was rewarded accordingly.  This activity demonstrated business elements such as strategic planning, problem solving, team dynamics and negotiation skills, to name a few.

That evening saw the delegates travelling to a trendy dinner venue, Jad Mahal, by Caleche.

Day two was spent enjoying a jeep safari through the Atlas Mountains.  Delegates were split in to groups of four and team members followed instructions in a road book and navigated their way through the mountains, stopping at the Olive Garden for lunch and a swim, before heading back to the hotel later in the afternoon.

Dinner took place at a traditional Moroccan restaurant, Dar Marjana, serving traditional Moroccan salads, pigeon pastilla, briouates filled with cheese, lamb tagine, vegetable tagine and couscous, as well as honey crepes and Moroccan pastries.

Day three offered delegates an opportunity to enjoy Hamman spa treatments, participate in a Moroccan cooking workshop or enjoy the day at leisure before departure.

Verdict:

The event was described as being extremely well organised to every last detail and overall was a huge success.