Why free time, authenticity and immersion are redefining program inclusions
What are the latest trends emerging for incentive travel 2025 and beyond? Smart Meetings sat down with Annette Gregg, CEO of SITE and SITE Foundation, to explore the trends among budget, program inclusion, coming challenges and destination selection for the coming year, courtesy of the Incentive Travel Index Survey Results from SITE Foundation.
Click here to watch the entire webinar.
Business Outlook is Good
The state of the world has been unpredictable with the post-pandemic, a new incoming U.S. governing body, geopolitical conflict worldwide, and an erratic stock market. However, business is thriving.
“We’re really at an all-time high with numbers now, both in occupancy in luxury and upscale, which is the hot sector that most incentive programs are looking at,” says Gregg.
Lucky for planners, incentive travel is growing. Only 8% of North American corporate and agency buyers report decreased activity over 2024 and 2025, and only 6% have reported decreases for 2026.
“Now everybody’s kind of doubling down on their investment in [incentive] programs,” says Gregg.
Gregg cited the budget allocations for 2023 versus 2024, looking at the different areas of a budget that planners typically work with. Hotels and F&B are still big in-demand players, and they saw an uptick, with hotels seeing a 7% variance and F&B a 12% variance from 2023 to 2024.
Read More: New and Renovated: Calling All Incentive Planners
The Evolving Workplace
The pandemic shook things up for office culture, and companies are still trying to find the best recipe to build an office culture in a hybrid and remote work environment.
“[Because of that], owners of incentive travel programs are using these programs to build a culture to get people more loyal to the company, as recruiting tactics, not just retention tactics,” says Gregg.
What does that mean for program inclusions?
“For the first time, we’re seeing that free time is now a top inclusion,” says Gregg.
Aside from free time, planners are also considering program inclusions such as time with their spouse, immersive cultural activity, gifting and gala dinners/awards as some of the top selections.
Attendees are still looking for cultural points to be included in an incentive program when attending an incentive experience.
“They still want to be immersed in that destination and see the key historical and cultural assets,” says Gregg.
One question about incentive travel and companies is how it drives loyalty and confidence to recruit top talent.
Rising costs and recruitment are challenges facing many employers today, as are sustainability and climate. However, AI and staffing issues remain the most prevalent.
“Attracting and retaining talent continues to be a huge problem in our industry. With the return to work mandates, people will be switching [jobs] more, making it harder to do business.”
Read More: All-Inclusive Incentives: Stormy Waters or Smooth Sailing?
Be Authentic
According to Wakefield Research, in 2023, 45% of polled participants, including 67% of Millennials, want their experiences to be authentic.
90% believe experiencing the destination as a local is essential, and 95% want to spend at least three hours a day in a new and different experience.
“I want to experience it as the locals do, and I also want something new and unique. Don’t just take me on the same catamaran experience. How are you going to add something new and different to it?” says Gregg. “We have to continue to push and experience design to something they can’t get on Viator or TripAdvisor on their own.”
Read More:IRF Invitational Went All-in on Incentive Event Personalization
Destination Selection
According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, by 2030, more than 50% of the global workforce will be under 40 years old. What does that mean for incentive travel?
“We have an overwhelming amount of respondents saying, ‘Hey, we’re ready to go somewhere new,’” says Gregg.
All-inclusive resorts have also seen an uptick in interest.
“All-inclusive resorts have leveled up, and you’re seeing a huge amount of interest in those for incentives, mainly because of [rising] food and beverage costs,” Gregg continues.
Even though the demand for new destinations is high, attendees aren’t necessarily excited about taking a 16-hour flight.
“They’re still concerned about cost and the attendee experience,” Gregg continues. They are choosing new destinations not used before, but it might be a nine-hour flight radius.”
Read More: Incentive Travel: Interactive Connection is the Name of the Game
Cutting Budgets
Sometimes, making cuts is necessary to get the most out of an event for the planners and the attendees, especially when the budget demands it. Since attendees are trending towards more free time, 52% of participants chose reduced activities, and 50% chose reduced gifting to save on budgets.
“They can just go lay by the pool or explore the town or what have you,” says Gregg.
