10 Reasons Why Incentive Trip Rocks

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Gano iTouch 3rd Quarter Travel Blitz participants in front of Putrajaya Royal Palace
I'm not talking about giving free out of country trips to employees by their respective companies basically because they need to attend say, a training, for example. This is about relishing the tour that has already been planned out for your total enjoyment without thinking much about work that has been left behind. A trip that pampers you, a trip that fills you in, a trip that is full of life enriching experience. In my recent posts, I shared about my fun and fascinating journey from my first ever out of country trip abroad - flying to Malaysia courtesy of Gano iTouch Philippines. This time, I would like to share with you why this particular incentive trip rocks!

1. D-I-Y no more!
at Resorts World Genting
Most of my local trips call for a lot of budgeting so the best way to stick with the allowance is to go for a do-it-yourself type of traveling. Doing this entails a lot of research - intensive research. Not that I have any problem with planning a DIY tour, in fact I find the planning part exciting already. But this particular out of country trip is a breath of fresh air as I simply savor every moment of every place without having to burden myself on where and what to do next.

2. Freebies everywhere
     Aside from the usual free accommodation, free food, free product and plane tickets, we were also provided with big air-conditioned buses for the whole duration of our stay. Inside the bus, not only we were given free local snacks but also free Aling Dionisia-Erap jokes! Lol! Not sure if it's true but someone from the tour said the company alloted a budget of over Php50,000 per person. Wow! This has just been my most expensive trip to date!


3. Travel with fun-loving and business minded people
Members from our core group (Alarcon-Suedad) includes an entrepreneur, a doctor, a bank manager, a former media practitioner turned blogger-entrepreneur (ahem!), a college student, a pastor, an OFW, a coffeeshop owner, a secretary, a señior citizen etc, where all hails from Cebu, South Cotabato and Iloilo. Just imagine how fun it was to have traveled with both the Bisayas and Ilonggos, laugh trip talaga sa bus at tuwing kakain! The trip becomes more memorable when you get to share those experiences with an amazing group of people.


4. Good night sleep
This was probably the most luxurious trip I had for the longest time. The pampering continues as the sun begins to hide, as there is no better way to end a long day of adventure than throwing yourself on top of a clean crisp bed inside a wonderful hotel every night. After washing and drinking cup of coffee, I had no problem getting into deep sleep after I lay myself comfortably in the cool soft hotel bed. Oh, the idea of comfort still lingers in my head.











5. More dressier!
Traveling in comfort for me means wearing a good pair of flip flops or light casual shoes, never the stilletos. But during this trip, I could afford to go a little dressier even for just one night. Part of the incentive trip was the welcome dinner party organized by Gano Excel Malaysia so it was indeed a good chance to wear my black stilletos to partner with my little black dress and pump up in style for my first out of country trip.



6. Travel in comfort
our tour bus
A backpack is every traveler's friend. But since this trip provided us with tourist buses for comfortable road trips, I brought a small black wheeled suitcase and bid a short farewell to my loyal backpack that has been giving me a back strain every time I travel with it (reminding me to save some more and splurge on a good quality backpack). Our luggage are simply placed at the bus compartment while traveling on the road that I appreciate the extra space on my seat with no more heavy backpack to bear. I get to explore, climb and even run around tourist spots freely with just a wallet and camera on my hand. Just try carrying a backpack with you and climb Batu Cave's steep 272 steps...
  
7. Experience Fun and Luxury
Penang Beach
Traveling on a budget is my thing and also my comfort zone so when I heard about stories of my relatives previous incentive trips from Gano, I got really excited for I'm sure I'll be experiencing a bit of luxury and pampering. Lo and behold, this is Gano iTouch's biggest and most enjoyable incentive trip so far. After working hard for our business, we definitely want to create happy times as well and the trip gave us that much needed break.

8. Save Time. Explore More
Shopping at the bottom of Kek Lok Si Temple
I was happy to realize that for my first out of country experience,  I was able to do more and see more. Since everything was really taken care of, we were able to maximize the time we spent in Malaysia - no commuting and no getting lost ordeals. Well, except for a couple of "waiting" moments from time to time (considering there were about 130 participants), we still managed to visit the country's must-see places and shop to our hearts content.

9.  Asian Party
The welcome dinner party was definitely a night to remember because we got to party with other Asian delegates from Thailand and Malaysia. I can't help but compare the night's gathering - both Malaysians and Thai's are much reserved compared to Filipinos na parang nagpaka-madlang people lang from Showtime. No wonder why It's More Fun in the Philippines!

10. Bring on the Food!

We were treated to a delightful buffet from day 1 up to the very last dinner of day 5. From hawker to hotel food, we enjoyed every single bite from an array of visually arresting dishes that made all of us about 5 pounds bigger - talking about the joy of eating! 

This post is part of my Malaysia Incentive Trip Series:

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