The Incentive Research Foundation’s 2024 Incentive Travel Index (ITI) was presented in conjunction with SITE at IMEX America in October, but key points were discussed in a recent webinar moderated by IRF president Stephanie Harris.
Joined by Chris Johnson, Director, Enterprise Events & Sports Partnerships for Land O’Lakes and Richelle Suver, Chief Revenue Officer for One10, the webinar focused on how incentive professionals are delivering outstanding travel programs despite the budgetary constraints reported in the ITI.
Though the survey conducted for the study was international—2,800 respondents from 19 countries—the group mostly concentrated on data reported by the 56 percent of respondents who were North American and who represented third-party incentive travel houses, corporate program owners, suppliers and DMOs.
Following are some of the key points discussed by the panel:
- More companies are choosing incentive travel over cash awards; the survey showed an expected 37 percent increase in 2025 and a 45 percent rise in travel awards two years out.
- Only half the respondents say their budgets matched inflation; the rest said budgets were flat. Among recommendations from the panel on dealing with a smaller budget were:
- Using a destination during off-season. Mexico was brought up as an example because of its year-round temperate weather.
- Choosing an all-inclusive resort to control costs. “We’re starting to use those properties more because the food and beverage is a bit more controllable,” noted Chris Johnson.
- Other cost-controlling ideas included rearranging agendas to have stages up for a shorter time vs. up and possibly sitting unused in a ballroom.
- When calculating per-person budgets for 2024, a majority of planners, 27 percent, reported programs in the $3,000-$5,000 range; only 9 percent reported per-person budgets of more than $10,000. Richelle Suver said One10 averages $10K pp and above. “When you consider programs like African safaris, you’re going to see higher numbers,” she said.
- More winners are sailing away on cruise incentives, which the panelists praised for offering multiple destinations on one trip while controlling F&B costs.
- Group dining experiences vaulted to the number one spot as the most appreciated activity in an incentive travel program, which seemed to surprise the panelists though Richelle Suver acknowledged “a real need to drive bonding through breaking bread.”
More Thoughts on Budgeting
In an extensive discussion exploring budget issues, Richelle Suver noted that airline caps are unrealistic because 1) when it’s early in the planning process, fares change; and 2) you don’t know where the winners originate—they may need multiple connections.
To keep budgets lower, planners might need to have difficult conversations with clients, Chris Johnson said. “You have people who’ve earned the reward, and then you’ve got other representatives also attending the trip,” he said. “You really have to home in and talk about who needs to be there versus who wants to be there.”
For additional key findings from the 2024 Incentive Travel Index study as well as reports from previous years, visit incentiveindex.com.
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