Bon Voyage Mementos: Market Your Business. Show Your Clients Appreciation.

Gifts for the trip could be an excellent way to market your business and show your clients you appreciate them. The cost/benefit ratio is important, though, as is choosing items that are highly useful: You don't want items to end up shoved in a drawer or, worse, in the trash. Consider how best to include your logo.

While you want to advertise your business, avoid making your clients a target with something that screams "Tourist!"

Suggestions for logo-bearing gifts

For student groups, small backpacks are a time-honored favorite. These nylon bags need not be expensive; usually, they just need to get the student through the trip. It's all about getting your logo on display, and giving kids a place to stow the mementos they accumulate each day. (Let's face it: Student groups kind of scream "Tourist!" anyway.)

A quality travel umbrella could be a great gift, depending on where your clients are headed. For a destination wedding, of course, it could be seen as a bad omen—but in other locations, it could be the perfect accessory. After the summer monsoon rains of South Korea wore the water-proofing right out of my original travel umbrella, the complimentary one that came with my travel care package (delivered to my destination, so I didn't have to pack it) saw plenty of use!

Disposable packets of sunscreen, hand sanitizer, and lotion will keep your clients appreciating you. When weary travelers arrive at their destination (and realize the complimentary hotel shampoo, conditioner, and shower gels they've come to expect are not standard in some regions of the world), the TSA-approved mini bottles you gave them could make life a little less hectic. Lip balm with sunscreen is another memento that might help make your travelers more comfortable—and because it's not a one-use product, your logo gets more time on display.

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