The Incentive Travel Index finds more programs are having meals on-site
According to the most recent Incentive Travel Index, incentive planners are seeing programs changing toward more on-site meals and activities, as well as events to convene a dispersed workforce. Many agree there was a shift toward programs with more on-site meals and activities in 2023 (52%) compared to 37% in 2022, followed by a shift towards events to convene a dispersed workforce (41%). However more incentive buyers disagree that they are seeing a shift toward entire company trips based on performance (44%), as well as shorter programs (40%), than those who agree.
The Incentive Travel Index is joint initiative of the Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) and the Foundation of the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE Foundation) and is undertaken in partnership with Oxford Economics.
On the activities front, 60% thought group cultural sightseeing experiences were the
most appreciated activity in an incentive travel program. Relationship building (58%), group dining (57%) and luxury/bucket list travel (53%) were also considered important by most respondents. Relationship building, however, was down from 72% of respondents in 2022.
Activities that promote relationship building were most important to the manufacturing (78%), finance and insurance (73%), and pharmaceuticals and health care (73%) industries. Group cultural sightseeing activities are relatively more important in the rest of world (69%), while group dining experiences take greater significance in Western Europe (66%).
“The 2023 Incentive Travel Index drills down to examine the data by industry and geographic location, enabling incentive industry professionals to target the data they need to make decisions to meet their specific goals,” said SITE CEO, Annette Gregg. “The ITI clearly demonstrates that one size does not fit all. Incentive industry professionals need to be nuanced in their approach to client needs and mindful of the fact that there can be significant differences based on industry vertical or geographic location.”
For additional key findings from the 2023 Incentive Travel Index study as well as reports from previous years, visit https://www.incentiveindex.com/.
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