BEHIND THE SCENES
RAYMOND DESMET
@dmire & President of Initiative


By Frans Rombouts

Raymond Desmet (53) joined @dmire in 2005.This MICE company was not new to him: he had been married to founder and General Manager, Brigitte Boone for 27 years. So he got quite a number of evening classes on MICE when Brigitte told him her day. And when an additional staff member was needed, the choice was quickly made and Raymond exchanged his international commercial activities for MICE.

Raymond studied commercial and consular sciences at VLEKHO in Brussels as he wanted to have a career in diplomacy.

Raymond Desmet: “When I met Brigitte during the last year of my studies I changed my ideas because as a diplomat I would not be allowed to help a relative out with a commercial business, and that was what I wanted to do with Brigitte. So I made a diplomatic choice and went for where my heart was. I then specialised in international business. After my military service, I took a job in the transport industry. After four years I changed to another company that organised combined transport: trucks & trains. I travelled a lot and learned to understand different mentalities in different cultures. And when I came back home, Brigitte questioned me about airlines, hotels, etc. After 5 years as a very frequent traveller, I had had enough. I found a job with a lot less travel requirements and I stayed there for 13 years. And last year, when @dmire needed more staff, I decided to work fulltime with my wife in stead of being her ‘consultant’.

Brigitte and Raymond live upstairs from their offices. Is it then not difficult to ‘close the door’ at the end of the day and forget about the business?
Raymond Desmet: “This is, indeed, not easy, and sometimes it's even good to have the door open. When you are confronted with a challenge at the office, changing environment may help you look at the subject from a completely different angle, and then you see the solution right in front of you. But again, it is difficult to switch your mind from work to home. And during the weekends we just go on working.”

WORKING WITH CHINESE...
Raymond is now focussing on the Chinese market.

Raymond Desmet: “Doing business with the Chinese is at first a bit strange. They have another way of thinking and doing. They quickly say ‘yes’ and they really mean ‘no’ or ‘I don’t know’. Saying ‘no’ shows a lack of respect for the other, and that's why white lies are allowed in China. Another difficulty relates to visas for inbound travel, which our Chinese who wish to come to Europe only get at the very last minute, and this understandably creates problems with hotels etc. Also arranging business appointments with Belgian partners for incoming Chinese business people or authorities is hard, because we may only know the size of the group and the exact names a week, or even less, before arrival, that is if they come at all. And there are obvious language problems, so you need constant assistance from interpreters.

When I was in China for the first time, I was astonished by the difference between what I had read about the country and reality. China is a much more developed country than I was led to believe by the books. The economy is booming, modern architecture is superb, all taxis are air conditioned, the Chinese hotels that I stayed in, were perfect... and the people are friendly and willing to help you. Of course, the economic development is concentrated in the east, and I fear that a lot of people will move from the west to the east and this may create a lot of problems.”

...AND RUSSIANS
Raymond also concentrates on the Russian market. It strikes him how many Russian business people do not speak English. That's why he now has taken up Russian classes.

Raymond Desmet: “Russians also have a different business mentality from us, but they are always correct, both in the business arrangements and in the payments. Here, too, there are visa problems for inbound travel. If the Belgian embassy was a bit more lenient in providing visa to Russians, I'm sure that business with Russia would boom. We are trying to convince the Belgian embassy in Russia to make the procedures a bit more easygoing, so that someone from St Petersburg, for instance, doesn't have to come to Moscow twice in a couple of days to get a visa. I have the impression that this is not the case with the embassies of our neighbouring countries. This administrative advantage may make a Russian company decide to do business with another country, e.g France and not Belgium.

RAYMOND DESMET ON...

Favourite destinations
I like Myanmar (formerly Burma) a lot. Although it is impossible to travel in the north of the country - where you are considered an intruder- the south is intriguing. Despite the regime, the population is extremely friendly and the hotels are superb. If you want to go there, take at least 10 days to two weeks.
When it comes to cities, I really like Toronto. It is difficult to explain the feeling I have when I am there. I have already been a number of times and it feels like coming home.

Respect in the MICE world
People working in the MICE world are very lucky. Just because you work in the sector, the whole world lies open to you and you can visit incredible places, which you wouldn't otherwise get to see. It seems to me that this is not always easy to deal with for some of us. Being very lucky should not become a synonym for being spoilt.
When I came to my first job, the GM told me, “Raymond, now that you finished your University studies and that you're ready to put everything into practice, you can go and join the workers loading trucks for a few weeks.”
I honestly think that you have to start from the floor and by that I dont mean the ‘upper floor’, if you know what I mean!
I therefore always have great esteem for what we call the real workforce because, after all, they do the hard work.

Being your own boss
When I started working for our own company I had a strange feeling: I didn't have a boss anymore. This is still a weird feeling, as well as not being in the morning traffic jams anymore, which for me was a ‘waking up’ period.
Having no boss means there is no backup anymore. This creates a specific kind of stress that is difficult to cope with for a lot of people.

Food & drink
I don't have any time for hobbies, except taking my dog, Corazón out for long walks, but I do love to taste different cuisines. When in China, this was also a revelation for me. I just love the genuine Chinese cuisine, which does not nearly resemble the food that we get in European Chinese restaurants. Did you know that the ‘famous’ sweet-and-sour sauce doesn't exist in China?
Of course, there are certain things I like less, like eating fish heads, and the Chinese table manners - if we can call spitting on the table like that.

Music
Unfortunately I don't make time to go to the opera or concerts, but I was lucky to attend a concert by one of my favourite singers, Chris Rea. I feel really sorry that I could not go to this farewell concert in Forest National. In my younger years I was a fervent fan of Procol Harum with Robin Trower, the legendary drummer BJ Wilson and Chrissie Stewart on bass.

Initiative
Initiative, the professional association of 11 independent incentive travel experts, was founded in 1999. Since June this year a new board has been installed, and I was invited to preside it. The new board would like to enlarge the membership and has already installed task groups around specific topics such as the fiscal side of our operations, a code of conduct and general conditions relating to our suppliers and clients.
It is of the utmost importance, especially in our industry, to stand together to protect our common interests with the authorities and the general public. In defending our clients interests it should become very clear that an incentive house does not do the same job as a travel agency, and that they have a discipline in their own right.

@dmire
@dmire, founded by Brigitte Boone, handles both in- and outbound MICE operations for international and Belgian clients. Although the company has a travel agency licence, it is not a pure travel agency and does not often work for individuals. If clients wish to have a pre- or post-tour for a conference, @dmire will also organise it for them.
Today the company focuses on specific markets. For China @dmire currently cooperates with ‘Club Chine’, which involves the tourism authority for Wallonia-Brussels (OPT) and BITC.

Raymond Desmet
Director-Partner
@dmire bvba sprl
Meetings Incentives Conferences Events
Gemeenveldstraat 93
B-1652 Beersel (Alsemberg)
Tel. +32-(0)2-361 65 59, fax +32-(0)2-361 65 58
raymond.desmet@admire.be
www.admire.be

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