Motivational Modicare

Modicare is a part of the KK Modi Group and a direct selling company in India. It is a major player in the industry dominated by multinational corporations such as Avon, Oriflame, Amway and Tupperware. Modicare has a network of nearly 900,000 independent business owners or consultants in India. When Modicare wanted to reward its top performers, it assigned its inhouse DMC, Beacon Travels, with the task of choosing a destination for the event. The objective was to organise a distributor and consultant incentive trip at a premium and upmarket country in Asia. Senior regional and corporate management also participated. A consultant qualifies for this incentive on achieving a particular business title. This incentive trip was for all new Star directors and above. Travel manager Sunil Chowdhary came to Singapore for a site inspection in early January 2004. Chowdhary was hosted by New Park Hotel on Kitchener Road for three days. The four-star hotel is in Little India and is part of Parkroyal Hotels and Resorts. Star Holiday Mart, the Singaore DMC, were the ground handlers for the group. The Indians comprised 75 per cent of males from the ages of 25 to 60, who traveled alone with the exception of one family member. Beacon Travel had first approached Star Holiday Mart last October. The decision was made to come to Singapore at the end of January 2004. Said Ong: "There were about four bidders for this contract. Modicare came to Singapore about two to three years ago. Most of the incentive participants were new to Singapore." The group arrived in Singapore for a five-night stay from February 10 to 15, making it one of the few incentive groups that actually stay for longer than two nights, as most Indian groups opt for fly-cruise tours or twin destination tours to Malaysia. The first day was free and easy for the group of 300 as they arrived from four Indian cities, New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore via Air India, SriLankan Airlines and Indian Airlines. Seven coaches and seven guides were on hand to shuttle the groups to the hotel. A full day seminar was held at the hotel's Emerald Ballroom, theatre style the next morning, lasting from 10am to 7pm where participants were given updates on new Modicare products. A lot of time was spent on training the group on sales techniques. A buffet lunch and dinner were taken in the same room. As 70 per cent of participants were vegetarian, most meals were Indian vegetarian with generous portions of potato, rice, naan and daal. A few meat dishes catered for non-vegetarians. The third day was pure leisure, starting with a city tour from The Padang where the Merlion was visited, then heading to Chinatown for souvenir shopping, and to a gemstone factory on Alexandra Road. Lunch was back at the hotel ballroom, followed by a ride to Mount Faber where the party boarded cable cars which took them into Sentosa, Singapore's resort island. There, the group visited Images of Singapore, Cinemania and The Musical Fountain. Dinner was at the Riverwalk Tandoor by the Singapore River. Once again, North Indian vegetarian cuisine was served along with tandoori dishes baked in a clay oven, of fish, prawn, chicken, and leg of lamb. Star Holiday Mart general manager Dominic Ong said: "For the dinners, Indian groups prefer to drink whisky such as Black Label and beer. For Modicare, they brought in 60 bottles of whisky, but in the end, they consumed only about 30 bottles and ended up giving away the rest. They also consumed about three 30-litre barrels of Tiger Beer." The fourth day started with a half day seminar ending at 3pm, followed by a visit to the Night Safari and dinner and dance at the Singapore Zoological Gardens' Jungle Flavours restaurant, which deviated from its usual fare to serve North Indian food. The last day, being Valentines' Day left ample time for the travelers to head to Mustafa Centre next door, a shopping mall popular among Indian tourists looking for cosmetics, perfume, and electronic and audio-visual goods. The day ended with a gala dinner, and a cultural performance at New Park Hotel's sister property, Plaza Park Royal on Beach Road because the former's only ballroom had already been booked for a wedding dinner. The land cost of the tour was US$105,000 including hotel accommodation, sightseeing and meals. Said Ong: "On the whole, the trip went smoothly. This event was unique because it was the biggest group we have ever handled. We usually do about 10 incentive groups a month from India and group sizes range from 20 to 50 people. "This one was different, as the numbers surged towards late February to 300 participants. We had initially expected about 220. The main challenge for us was to get the visas in February." Ong believes the choice of the hotel played a big role in the success of the event as it was in a convenient location where Indian food and 24-hour shopping at Mustafa Centre were available. "In Singapore, we have the latest audio-visual and laptop models and they are cheaper than in India. The Indians love shopping here."