what does incentive travel mean

Incentive Travel

What is incentive travel? How are incentive programs, trips, and events different from conference and meeting planning? In this section we'll look at the definition of incentive travel, including: examples of incentive travel programs, how to become an incentive travel planner, an incentive travel planner job description, career advice, employment information, and the pros and cons of being an incentive travel planner in this sector of the events industry.

A guide to incentive travel programs; definitions, descriptions, and examples.

Careers in Incentive Travel / Destination Management

Why become an incentive travel planner or destination manager? Career advice and employment information.

Being an Incentive Travel Planner

What does an incentive travel planner do? Read a real incentive travel planner job description by Martin Turner, former Director of Travel, International Travel Group, and former Global Head of Events, Credit Suisse .

Pros and Cons of Incentive Travel

Pros and cons of incentive travel by Martin Turner, former Director of Travel, International Travel Group, and former Global Head of Events, Credit Suisse .

Being a Destination Manager

What does a destination manager do? Read a real destination manager job description by Jennifer Miller, Partner and President, ACCESS Destination Services .

Pros and Cons of Destination Management Careers

Pros and cons of destination management careers by Jennifer Miller, Partner and President, ACCESS Destination Services .

MICE: Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions

Although the content of an incentive travel program is very different to other types of meetings—in that the emphasis is on entertainment, activities, and socializing—the event planning process is very similar. Meetings and incentive programs both involve location planning, destination management, co-ordinating travel and accommodation, and creating a program of supporting events.

Meeting planners often find themselves working on a mix of meetings, conferences, and incentive travel programs, and in doing so will often call upon the services of a destination manager at a DMC (Destination Management Company). Destination managers are a type of event planner who offers local knowledge and resources to meeting planners in order to help deliver events in a particular region

What Is Incentive Travel?

Incentive travel is the reward element of an incentive, recognition, or loyalty program, which takes the form of an all-expenses paid trip with a program of scheduled events and activities.

Incentive Programs

Incentive, recognition, and loyalty programs (from here on referred to as just ‘incentive programs’) are used by companies as a motivational tool to achieve certain business objectives, for example to increase sales.

Participants—which might be the company’s employees, distributors / re-sellers, or customers—usually have to qualify by achieving a certain level of performance, pre-defined by the terms of the incentive program, e.g. achieving pre-set sales targets.

Those that meet the relevant criteria are then rewarded by taking part in the incentive travel trip (sometimes referred to as the ‘award’). These are usually group trips with a set itinerary where all those qualifying take part in the same program of events and activities, however individual incentive trips are also used by some companies.

Incentive Trips/Awards

To fulfill the award, the company will use some form of event / meeting planner to co-ordinate the trip and design the itinerary, including all travel arrangements, accommodation, receptions, dinners, activities, excursions, entertainment, and special events.

Often, this will involve the meeting planner hiring a Destination Management Company (DMC), located in the city where the event is being held, to assist them in booking and managing local elements, such as restaurants, venues, transport, staffing, production, décor, entertainment, activities, and excursions.

Incentives are a very effective way to drive sales. An incentive program might be aimed at a company’s employees i.e. the sales team, or its distributors / re-sellers.

For example, a car manufacturer might create an incentive program for its dealers, whereby they have to meet a certain sales target each month. At the end of the term of the program, a year perhaps, those that made the required amount of sales will be rewarded by coming together with management executives, and the other qualifying dealers, to attend the award trip.

This might consist of a three-day trip to Monte Carlo during the Monaco Grand Prix with a cocktail reception on a yacht, a private dinner at the world famous casino, followed by leisure activities and excursions such as sailing, wine tastings, golf, or a private tour of The Prince’s Palace.

Rewards and Recognition

Group travel can also be used as part of an employee reward and recognition program. Whereas incentive programs aim to inspire or influence someone’s efforts, the purpose of rewards and recognition programs are to reinforce certain behaviors.

A qualifying employee may be deemed to be improving customer service, living the corporate values, or meeting productivity goals. A company might create a group travel program ‘award’ as a way to engage with their employees, recognize performance, and reward top achievers.

The format is similar to those held for sales incentives in that, as a reward, the emphasis is on leisure activities, excursions, group dinners, and receptions. It might be a trip to Sir Richard Branson’s private game resort, Ulusaba Lodge in South Africa, with a program that includes safaris, hot air balloon rides, helicopter tours over canyons, and outdoor dinners and receptions with the finest African cuisine.

Employee Motivation

For example, in addition to various dinners and leisure activities, one company’s program included a team building session called ‘Helping Hands’ where employees were given a box of parts and an instruction booklet. Working as a team they had to assemble an object, which later transpired to be a prosthetic hand, which was then given to a land mine victim who had lost their hand.

Customer Loyalty

Another variation of an incentive program is when group travel is used to reward customer loyalty and repeat business. I have actually been on the receiving end on an incentive program organized by the parent company of a group of event industry suppliers.

The parent company owns a caterer, a venue finding company, a staffing agency, and a technical production company—amongst others. They have an incentive program whereby their customers, event companies such as my own, Left Field Productions , have their annual spend with any of the parent company’s businesses converted into points. Once a certain amount of points is accrued, my company qualifies for between one and three places on a group travel ‘award’.

One year this included a three-day trip to Portofino, Italy, where we stayed in the luxurious Hotel Splendido, which sits on a hillside overlooking the Mediterranean and is frequented by celebrities such as Madonna, George Clooney, and Elizabeth Taylor.

The ‘incentive travel program’ is what, up until now, we have been referring to as the ‘award’; it’s the reward element of the entire ‘incentive program’. Among event planners however, the ‘award’ is generally referred to as the ‘incentive travel program’ or just the ‘travel program’. It’s not really regarded as an event, because it’s usually a lot more than that; it’s a program of events and activities over several days or even a week.

Incentive Program

The ‘incentive program’ is the entire scheme that leads up to and includes the ‘award’. The ‘incentive program’ might start up to a year in advance, often it’s unveiled at the end of the current program—perhaps at an awards dinner on the final evening—in order to build excitement.

The incentive program is often unveiled on the final night of the previous year’s incentive travel program.

Teaser Campaign

‘Teasers’ are sent out to participants to build anticipation of the official launch. For example, if the destination is going to be a beach resort, then a flip-flop might be sent to each participant with a cryptic clue attached. Promoting an incentive is all about building excitement, so often the way it is communicated needs to be creating and engaging.

Official Announcement

Official announcement, information packs, and enrolment kits are sent out for participants to ‘sign up’ to the incentive program. These packs will outline the terms and conditions of the program, with information on what is required to qualify, for example defining sales targets.

Qualification period

During this period, which could last up to a year, participants are required to meet the pre-defined criteria that would enable them to qualify for the award, for example hitting sales targets.

Mid-Program Motivation

More teasers and reminders will usually be sent out over the course of the qualifying period to encourage the participants to meet the necessary criteria.

Qualifiers Announced

Qualifiers or ‘winners’ announced. In some cases, physical trophies or other gifts are handed out at this stage, in advance of the actual ‘award’ trip. Shortly after, travel arrangements will be communicated to the qualifiers.

Guests might travel separately from different locations or, alternatively, group travel arrangements will be made where everybody takes the same flight together.

Upon arrival in the destination city, participants might be greeted at the airport by local representatives, before transferring to their hotels. Often the creative elements of the program start here.

For example, when I attended an incentive program in Monaco, we were flown from London to Nice, South of France, and had expected to be driven on to our hotel in Monte Carlo. However, on arrival in Nice, we discovered a series of helicopters had been laid on to transfer us the rest of the way.

Hotel Check-In

Participants are then greeted at the hotel, checked in, and have some time to settle in before the evening’s welcome dinner. Typically a welcome pack and gift is often left in room.

Welcome cocktail reception. An opportunity for everyone to meet and network, perhaps on a private terrace at the hotel, possibly with live entertainment from musicians and performers. Usually the meeting planner will add in a few extra creative touches to make the reception a little more special, such as a wine or tequila tasting.

Open-air dinner in the hotel’s private gardens overlooking the sea, possibly with after-dinner entertainment and/or some speeches from the hosts. Often the first evening’s dinner is held ‘on-site’ at the hotel as people are tired from travelling.

After-Dinner Drinks

Often, on the first night, this is just informal after-dinner drinks in the hotel bar as most people are tied from travelling. However, depending on the group, there might be cigars and cognac laid on, or a private lounge area with cocktails.

Breakfast at the hotel, perhaps followed by an informal meeting or presentation regarding upcoming activities.

Excursion to local attractions, sightseeing, and shopping. These might be cultural activities or the opportunity to take part in authentic ‘real life’ experiences typical of the location—such as exploring the Hutong area of Beijing by bicycle and having tea with locals in their homes.

Group lunch at a restaurant or special venue. Again, this is an opportunity for the meeting planner to get creative perhaps by obtaining access to a venue or location that's typically not accessible to the general public—such as lunch on a movie set or in private rooms at a royal palace.

Afternoon of leisure activities, which depending on the group, might be traditional activities, such as golf or a spa day. Alternatively, it could be more unusual activities like cage diving with sharks or bulldozer adventure playground days. Often, the meeting planner will try to obtain some sort of unique or VIP access, such as getting to kick around footballs with a professional team and star players at their local stadium.

Reception and Dinner

The second day's evening cocktail reception and dinner typically takes place ‘off-site’ at a restaurant or private venue, usually with entertainment. Again this might involve some sort of unusual venue, such as a USO themed event on a real naval base.

Nightclub / Casino

Option to continue on to a local nightclub/casino.

Breakfast at the hotel, perhaps followed by an informal meeting.

Excursion / Activities

More leisure activities, trips, or opportunity to experience local culture. Depending on the group, this could be anything from cave tours, to zero gravity flights at a NASA training facility, to private backstage tours of a Broadway show and an opportunity to meet the cast.

Group lunch at a restaurant or special venue.

Team Building

Team building / experiential activity—sometimes with a connection to the local community or a charity. This might be building a park in the desert for a children's home or the Helping Hand's activity mentioned previously where the group make prosthetic hands to be given to land mine victims who've lost their hand

Dinner/Dance/Awards

Cocktail reception, gala dinner, awards ceremony, and dancing ‘off-site’ at a private venue. Next year's destination/incentive program revealed.

Breakfast at hotel.

Check-out / transfers

Hotel check-out, transfers to airport.

Group lunch at a restaurant or special venue en route to airport

Return flight home

Obviously, this format only outlines the bare bones of a travel program. The challenge for the event planner is in making these programs as creative and engaging as possible—especially when you have to create something new and different every year.

The destination, accommodation, and activities might be amazing in their own right. For example, a three night trip to Hawaii with an itinerary that includes a sunset cocktail cruise, a private dinner on the beach, activities such as surfing, golf, waterfall hikes, hula lessons, and stargazing treks. It might also include excursions to the Diamond Head volcanic crater and Pearl Harbor, before a closing dinner and awards ceremony on the final night.

However, a good planner will make sure they include some extra special moments, private access to people and places, or exclusive experiences that the guests could not create themselves—either through lack of financial resources, local knowledge, contacts, or even imagination.

New Orleans

One leading incentive travel company created a trip to New Orleans for one of its clients, a Fortune 500 company. In addition to the usual 5 star accommodation and the finest local cuisine, the company added some extra touches to make the trip even more special. These included a private parade along Bourbon Street, followed by a dinner on the field of the Superdrome—where they were greeted by a marching band with their names circling on the ribbon board and their photos on the Jumbotron. They even had the chance to toss a few footballs around the pitch.

The following day, to connect with the local community, the group spent the afternoon planting trees and bushes at a newly rebuilt elementary school, which had been devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The playground and the landscaping that the group contributed to were the final touches to the redevelopment that had been seven years in the making.

Whether it’s providing exclusive access to something not readily available to the public, taking part in authentic ‘real life’ experiences typical of the local culture, or giving something back by connecting with the local community, those moments create memories that go far beyond being a business trip or vacation—and is what makes incentive travel work as a motivational tool.

REFERENCES 1. Anatomy of a Successful Incentive Travel Program White Paper, Melissa Van Dyke, Incentive Research Foundation

Why become an inventive travel planner or destination manager? Career advice and employment information.

What Is Incentive Travel? Definition & Benefits

It’s no secret that offering an incentive to employees is a key factor in boosting performance, sales, and engagement.

So with that in mind, we answer the question, “What is incentive travel?” with a definition and the top benefits of offering an incentive trip program.

What Is Incentive Travel?

Incentive travel is a specific trip or tour offered to top-performing employees as a way to motivate them to make more sales, gain more customers, and/or improve overall performance. By offering an incentive trip, companies are able to drive their business goals and recognize top performers.

An incentive trip can be taken as a group or an individual vacation for the employee and their families.

Benefits of Offering an Incentive Trip

Offering an incentive trip has plenty of benefits, so we’ve outlined the top reasons why your company should start an incentive trip program today.

1. Company growth and increased sales

To reiterate, people like rewards. Employees respond to incentives and, in return, target sales are more likely to be met and there could be an increase in business growth. By giving employees a goal to strive for, it promotes productivity gains that could potentially be seen across the board.

The increase in sales and productivity driven by the workforce will far outweigh the cost of offering an incentive trip. Additionally, by making employees feel valued, this will also likely increase sales and overall performance.

2. Stronger relationships and increased loyalty

Not only will employees be incentivized to sell more or boost their overall performance, but companies that offer incentive travel are also able to build stronger relationships with their employees.

Everyone wants to be rewarded for their hard work and employees recognize when companies offer those rewards. Offering an incentive trip will not go unnoticed.

Additionally, employees may be more likely to stay with a company that offers these rewards. Company loyalty is extremely important in long-term employee retention and incentive travel can help with that.

3. Extra professional development time

During an incentive trip, many companies opt to use some of the time to promote additional professional development through workshops and seminars.

Certainly, one of the most important parts of an incentive trip is to allow employees to relax and reap the benefits of their hard work, but by setting aside a couple of hours for professional development, employers are given the opportunity to blend leisure and learning.

4. Family time leads to a better support network

Many companies offer incentive trips for employees and their families. By allowing their families to join, companies are also promoting a healthy family support system.

Travel creates long-lasting memories and hard-working employees deserve to take some time out with their families to enjoy these memories together. This will hopefully promote high productivity for years to come.

5. Company bonding

Some companies treat incentive travel as more of a retreat for their employees to get to know each other, network, and team build. Whether you are getting the entire team together or a select few of the top sellers, this is an excellent opportunity to allow for some intercompany bonding.

This could also lead to higher sales or company growth because employees are able to get to know each other better on a much different level than they normally would in the office.

This is especially beneficial for companies spread out across the country or those that mainly work remotely. There’s nothing like an in-person connection and an incentive trip does just that. And it’s a lot of fun for everyone!

At the end of the day, offering incentive trips for employees is a win-win for everyone. Employees are encouraged to grow their productivity while they are also shown that their company values them and rewards them for their hard work. The company benefits from this hard work by hopefully seeing growth in the bottom line.

As a travel agency specializing in incentive travel, contact us and let us help you plan an incentive trip to motivate your employees and bring your company to a whole new level!

You may also like...

What Is the Best River Cruise to See Castles?

6 Best Resorts for a Destination Wedding in the Dominican Republic

5 Things to Consider When Planning a Company Retreat

Request a Free Quote

What is Incentive Travel?

Making the business case for incentive travel.

Reward and Recognition – why use incentive travel?

In its purest sense, Incentive Travel is a performance enhancement tool used to inspire outstanding workplace behaviours against clearly defined goals.

It’s a key part of the reward and recognition programs that organisations offer to motivate, incentivise and inspire outstanding performance amongst their workforces.

Cash bonuses, premium merchandise, memberships and flexible benefits are other types of reward typically offered by organisations:

Cash bonuses are widely deployed in organisations to reward performance. They have the advantage of being easy to implement and everyone understands the value of cash.

That said, they are ephemeral, here today, gone tomorrow. Cash often gets absorbed into a qualifier’s regular expenses so there is little to associate the reward with the organisation that offers it and the reward can be easily forgotten.

Merchandise is often used as a reward instead of cash and this is usually for fiscal reasons. The merchandise used in incentive programs is usually high end or luxury, ie, something a qualifier would not normally purchase on their own behalf.

However, no matter how high-end or premium, the merchandise has a known price so it places a finite value on the reward. It may be validating for the qualifier to have an over-sized TV screen, but the sense of validation may be short lived as there will always be bigger and better TV screens.

Some organisations offer memberships (golf club, gym, yoga etc) and benefits tailored to the specific needs and interests of the qualifer.

These rewards are already more enduring in their value to a qualifer than cash and merchandise, but they still have a finite value and place a specific price on the extraordinary effort that a qualifier made to get them.

Winning a place on an incentive travel program, however, has clear advantages over all the other tried and tested rewards. The principal advantage is that it’s “priceless”, offering an extraordinary travel experience, comprised of experiences not available in a tourist brochure. When planned well, these travel experiences can be deeply impactful, even transformational for the qualifier.

There are other benefits, too. Incentive travel is usually offered to a qualifier PLUS a significant other. Thus the sponsoring organisation is facilitating an outstanding shared experience for two people – both can look forward to the trip together (significant other acts as a performance catalyst) and both can treasure the memories it generates.

There are benefits to the sponsoring company too in that the incentive travel experience facilitates relationship building between qualifiers and officers in an organisation and can be a tangible way to put express, and get buy-in to, company culture.

MICE: Incentive Travel = the “I” in MICE

There is no universally agreed category header to describe the industry and marketplace variously known as The Meetings Industry, MICE, Business Tourism, The C & I sector, Business Events, The Meetings and Events Industry.

Different Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) favour different category headers and, moreover, argue vehemently against the use of others.

MICE, an acronym meaning Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Events is widely used in Asia and Europe but often disliked in North America and Australia where Business Events has gained currency.  The UK prefers The Meetings Industry.

Incentive Travel is the “I” in MICE. While corporate meetings usually seek to inform or educate participants, incentive travel seeks to motivate and inspire them. Incentive travel is described by the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) as

“... a powerful business tool to reward and unlock human potential to achieve corporate objectives.”

Incentive travel, therefore, is about reward and recognition – rewarding team members with an extraordinary travel experience for delivering outstanding results, recognising these high achievers before their peers and publicly validating their achievements.

For incentive programmes, the “appeal” of the destination is crucial as an all expenses VIP trip to this destination is the prize or the reward awaiting the qualifiers (those who exceed the targets set for qualification for the trip). Unless the destination is truly attractive and appealing, it will not trigger the emotional reaction necessary to motivate the employee to qualify for the trip .

The objectives of an incentive travel programme are many and can include:

• increasing sales
• building morale and loyalty
• increasing market share
• encouraging teamwork and better customer service

Incentive travel is used as a motivational tool across many industry sectors but is used particularly by the following ones:

• Financial and Insurance
• Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG)
• Direct Selling Companies (sometimes known as Network Marketing)

The supply chain for incentive travel starts with the organisation that decides to launch an incentive travel program (often called the “end user” or corporate planner) and includes a plethora of suppliers including specialist agencies in both the source market and destination, airlines, transportation companies, hotels, venues, restaurants, visitor attractions, speaker bureaux and AV / Production companies.

Of all the MICE segments, Incentive Travel is accepted as the segment that deploys the most touch points in both a source market and a destination.

Often the supply chain is divided into Buyers (corporate end user, agencies in source market) and Suppliers (airlines, agencies in destination, hotels, venues etc).

Making the Business Case for Incentive Travel

As the leading voice for the incentive travel industry, SITE & SITE Foundation are embarked upon an ongoing advocacy campaign to demonstrate the value of incentive travel as an effective marketing and business tool.

By providing education and certification programs, networking opportunities, industry research, and advocacy for its members and the incentive travel industry at large, SITE and SITE Foundation work to promote the value of incentive travel to businesses; emphasizing the positive impact that incentive travel can have on employee motivation, performance, and job satisfaction.

We need your help to collect the case studies that illustrate that effectiveness.

Why should you get involved?

By harnessing the experiences of incentive travel users, our campaign’s goal is to prove that incentive travel means business results; therefore increasing your incentive business, and its perceived value.

How can you get involved?

Submit a statement and brief case study by filling out the  Campaign Brief Form ; both sections #1 and #2. Submit completed forms via email attachment to  [email protected] .

SITE Crystal Awards

Considered the highest honor in our industry, the SITE Crystal Awards recognize creative, practical and truly memorable incentive travel programs that keep employees engaged, drive business results and improve the bottom line for global corporations.

The awards are aimed at incentive travel professionals all over the world. Winners represent excellence in their profession and offer inspirational examples of how incentive travel experiences benefit qualifiers, their companies and the destinations where they are hosted.

Surely the most compelling examples of the business case for Incentive Travel are SITE’s annual Crystal Award winners? Selected by our global panel of experts, the winners of a Crystal Award embody in their program design and delivery undisputed examples of excellence illustrating, convincingly, why incentive travel is THE most effective reward in a company’s reward and recognition initiative.

Foundation Research

SITE Foundation was established by SITE to raise funds and support research, education and advocacy projects on behalf of the incentive travel industry.

Monies raised by SITE Foundation enable us to make the business case for incentive travel and highlight the transformational potential of travel experiences on individuals, enterprises and communities.

Since 2017 SITE Foundation has invested over $1.25million to drive the business case for incentive travel and support professional development within the industry.

Evidence-based research is crucial when it comes to making the business case for Incentive Travel. That’s why it’s a core tenet of SITE Foundation’s vision and mission. Each year SITE Foundation commissions original research on various aspects of Incentive Travel to equip Incentive Travel professionals all over the world with data to underpin their important work on behalf of national, regional and global corporations.

SITE offers a number of options for individual and group membership

Go to Membership

Register for in-person and virtual events organised by SITE HQ and our Chapters

Go to Events

Check out SITE’s rich portfolio of webinars, online courses and educational resources

Go to Learn Hub

Since its formation in 1987, SITE Foundation has invested over USD$10M in our industry

Learn about the Foundation

Connect with us

7 Benefits of Incentive Travel for Companies and Employees

Recurrent Hourly Lifeguard

Laguna beach, california.

DescriptionThe City of Laguna Beach Marine Safety Department is seeking skilled and motivated individuals with a...

Facilities Services Laborer (Laborer)

San diego, california.

Position Summary Under general supervision, and in accordance with schedules or instruction, the Facilities Services Laborer...

PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAM MANAGER II

Salinas, california.

Position DescriptionPublic Health Program Manager II$9,102-$12,432 per monthOpen Until FilledExam 24/14C48/04PHPriority Screen Date: Monday, May 27,...

Accessibility

Pin It on Pinterest

• Why GoGather
• All Our Services
• Corporate Event Planning
• All Event Solutions
• Conferences
• Corporate Meetings
• Incentive Trips
• Sales Kickoffs & National Sales Meetings
• Preferred Properties
• Success Stories
• Buying Guide
• Pricing Guide

The Benefits of Incentive Travel: Motivating Employees and Beyond

Incentive travel is trending, are you ready.

Yes, you heard that right. Consider the two driving themes of late: post-pandemic travel and employee retention.

With the pandemic further and further in the rearview and individuals itching to get out of the house, travel is coming back in a big way ( even with inflation ).

Incentive trips can check both boxes simultaneously with incredible trips that reward your teams for their work and engender loyalty.

But is incentive travel right for your company? Will it benefit your teams and improve business? We argue: yes, it can be highly beneficial for your company and employees.

From higher retention to better connections, here's a quick rundown of the top seven benefits of incentive travel.

Quick Refresher: What is an Incentive Trip?

An incentive trip motivates and rewards employees for hitting significant goals or milestones. It can be an individual or group trip with multiple employees and leadership, and is usually completely paid for by the company.

Sometimes called The President's Club, Diamond Club, or The Winner's Circle, incentive travel is a great opportunity to boost employee morale, employee loyalty, and employee productivity.

These trips can take place in any location, from more exotic locales like Fiji to ones closer to home like Hawaii. Usually, the trips are a mix of group activities, high-end dinners, and personal time to relax and recharge.

What Are the Top Incentive Travel Benefits to my Company?

From improving company culture through team building and bonding, to encouraging teams to hit their sales targets, incentive travel offers many benefits to companies and employees alike.

These experiential rewards often provide more benefits than traditional cash rewards and can be a better way to increase motivation. Plus, even with a large price tag, these non cash rewards can be more cost effective than cash rewards since they garner even higher ROI .

There are many ways an incentive travel program can benefit your company. Let's take a look at some of those benefits of incentive travel now.

1. Reward Employees for Their Hard Work

Many companies struggle to motivate their teams in today's remote and hybrid work environment. When high-performing employees feel they're truly appreciated and have the opportunity for growth, they stay and work harder.

In one study, 65% of employees surveyed strongly agreed that they remember travel and merchandise rewards longer than cash rewards.

The incentive program itself can be a reward, but there are also employee recognition rewards you can tie into the program as well, including award ceremonies, gifts, and excursions for top talent. Think through what would make your team feel most appreciated.

2. Encourage Employee Competition

Incentive travel programs are a fantastic way to create an environment of healthy competition among your workers. They help motivate teams to work hard and achieve their goals so they can attend the trip.

Whether it's hitting targets or gaining more sales, travel incentives boost employee productivity prior to the trip. It's a tangible goal that they can work toward, and it feels more rewarding than a cash bonus, which often can feel like a given part of total compensation.

Motivated employees equal business success.

3. Reinforce Your Brand

Travel incentive travel programs give you the ability to infuse your brand into every aspect of the fun trip, from branded pillows to brand-mission conversations. It's a unique time when employees feel more relaxed and open to conversations about successes and strategies.

Use that time to also reinforce your brand message and engender a greater feeling of loyalty.

We encourage our clients to use custom logos to make the trip feel exclusive. These can be used in social media posts before and after the event, throughout the event on branded cocktail napkins, flags and more, and also on gifts. Try to balance using the brand throughout while still making the experience feel high-end.

4. Create Memorable Experiences

After years of high stress and burnout, employees are ready to relax. Incentive trips allow for travel without the hassle of planning a vacation themselves.

This takes the pressure off the employees and allows them to relax and enjoy the trip. Those few extra days away from the computer might be exactly what they need to boost creativity and come back refreshed and ready to seize the world again. 

For this reason, most companies that provide incentive travel programs put the utmost importance into providing chances for relaxation, connection, and fun for their employees.

5. Improve Retention Among Top Employees

An incentive trip for your top performers may improve your retention and reduce employee turnover. When hiring a new employee can cost up to 40% of salary , it's wise to keep your best employees feeling appreciated and well rewarded.

Those who feel appreciated and connected to the company culture will feel greater job satisfaction and more company loyalty, and thus will have more incentive to stay.

6. Attract New Talent

Some companies are known for their travel incentive programs and this can in turn attract high-performing talent. Incentive travel is a major perk for new talent and can be used as a recruitment tactic as part of your new employees' total package.

Make sure these travel rewards are well-communicated in job listings and even offer a sneak peek into these trips on your website.

7. Bring Your Teams Together

Group incentive travel programs give your team and your leadership time to interact and bond. Whether in-office or working from home, your teams need time to connect.

One study stated that 70% of respondents said maintaining relationships with their co-workers was just as important as their job.

During a group incentive trip, leaders can spend time with top talent to build relationships and loyalty and nurture the next generation of leaders in their organization.

Your top sales teams can also spend time swapping stories of success, which they can then use in the future to perform even higher. These casual conversations during sailing trips or zipling tours also help promote stronger company culture and bonds, which benefits everyone.

Recap: Will Incentive Travel Benefit My Company?

Incentive programs are an excellent way to improve employee motivation, reduce turnover, connect with executives, and provide a relaxing escape for your top performers. Companies that have implemented experiential rewards see all these benefits and more, and it could be a great way to boost your company's performance.

Unsure yet if incentive trips will work for your company? Discover what's needed to make a successful incentive travel program here.

Work with GoGather on Your Incentive Program

Want to brainstorm an upcoming incentive program with us? GoGather can help you figure out the right plan, from selecting the right location to building an agenda that's enticing and fun. Let's chat.

Katie Moser

Related articles.

What is Incentive Travel? Definition, Main Purpose & Examples

The Deluxe Incentive Travel Experience is a wonderful way for a Company to reward its people for a job well done. But let’s look back, for a minute, where it all started.

Incentive Travel: definition and main purpose

The concept of “Incentive” was invented during the late 20’s in the United States, where major corporations that started massive production of consumer goods needed large teams of salespeople to acquire customers. Large companies like, Ford, General Electric and The Coca Cola Company assigned territories, set quotas and began to measure salespeople success. A strong competition in every field compelled these corporations to professionalize their employees and reward them with cash bonuses or induction into elite club . This was the beginning of the unstoppable success of this business.

Later on in the 50’s , giving an “incentive” meant to give not only cash bonuses but also extra perks such as company cars, country club memberships and private secretaries and the use of vacation homes…the latest  being one of the most wanted perks!  Here we go, with the first concept of incentive travel.

In the past 40 years, incentives of all kinds were used to attract and keep good salespeople in the same corporation . The most sophisticated electronic gifts and home appliances, child-care assistance and stock options, are a few of the ways, used to lure employees to sell more and work as hard as possible to meet their quota.

One of the most wanted and alluring perks of all times has become the concept of Deluxe Incentive Travel .

Incentive Travel: Examples

Planning incredible trips to the most wonderful destinations in the world , which involves staying in the best deluxe hotels available, has become a very popular and acclaimed way to reward your best people . These trips are planned so that the activities and all involved have an aura of “exclusivity” and hard to do on your own. This way participants know that they are in for an incredible experience that money cannot buy, a once in a life-time event to be “earned” at all costs.

As of today, it is still one of the most wanted prizes, so most companies invest a lot in having an expert team to plan their Incentive Annual Trip, with the most possible exclusivity and highlights. The result is hundreds of Deluxe Incentive Trips , now offered in most nations and corporations, all over the world’s most exclusive destinations.

Incentive Travel trip in Italy

Italy is one of the most wanted locations always the Top Ten Mice destinations for Incentive Travel . Our country offers so many different options , from the Art Cities like Rome, Florence and Venice, to wonderful seaside destinations like the Amalfi Coast or The Italian Riviera with Portofino and the Cinque Terre. Not to talk about our wonderful islands such as Sardinia and Sicily.

In addition to History and Art, in Italy guests on an Incentive Trip can also enjoy wonderful deluxe hotel properties, tasty food and rare wines, great shopping, incredible venues to have a Gala Party and last but not least the Italian Way of Life. A unique deluxe experience to treasure, this is the aim of Incentive Travel and the people who plan it and the final guests who enjoys it.

Incentive Travel & Fourth Dimension Italy

Fourth Dimension Italy was started in Rome in 1975, to help the first attempts of Corporations from North America, to have their employees experience the best Italy could offer.

Still today, we specialise only in Deluxe Incentive Travel and Meetings taking the greatest care in details and quality of execution of any activity Incentive Travel involves. We have dedicated and experienced staff all over the country, that will make Incentive Programs and Meetings a sure success. Fourth Dimension Italy reputation in the Incentive Travel World in North America, Great Britain and Australia speaks for itself.

Previous Post Best Incentive Travel Destinations In Italy For 2022

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Fourth Dimension Italy DMC / Italy made 4 you

We have been a leading DMC in Italy since 1975, creating, organizing and delivering outstanding programs to clients throughout the world.

Destinations

Top destinations, rome florence & tuscany venice amalfi coast, sorrento & capri milan & como lake portofino & italian riviera sicily sardinia apulia, company destinations services blog testimonials contacts, privacy policy, +39 06 420 16 297, [email protected].

© 2024 FDItaly. Fourth Dimension Italy SRL Unipersonale

• Rome: the eternal city
• Florence & Tuscany
• Amalfi Coast, Sorrento & Capri
• Milan & Como Lake
• Portofino & Italian Riviera
• Testimonials

Send a Request!

Fill out the form below in order to send us an early request. A member of our Team will take in charge your case and will contact you back as soon as possible. Thanks!

BE ALWAYS UP TO DATE

Subscribe to our  newsletter.

Incentive travel: top tips for selecting the right destination for your next incentive trip

In today's fast-paced business world, remote and hybrid work models have become the norm for many organizations, necessitating a review of incentives, rewards, and recognition systems. In fact, with so many workers now operating off-site more frequently, employers are facing new challenges in motivating and engaging their teams. And that is where incentive travel comes in.  

Incentive travel has emerged as a powerful tool for boosting morale, increasing engagement, and enhancing business relationships. It offers an opportunity to reward top-performing employees, motivate sales teams, and strengthen relationships with key clients. 

  Moreover, as reported by the IRF 2023 Trends Report  - Incentive Research Foundation, incentive travel activity will be strong in 2023. Still, with the added emphasis on employee retention and recruitment, incentive trips need to be more exciting, exclusive, experiential, authentic, and memorable than ever. 

Therefore, one of the essential aspects when planning an incentive travel program is choosing the right destination . But with so many options available, this can be a very daunting task. 

In this blog, we will explore some top tips for choosing the perfect destination for your next incentive trip, ensuring that your investment is maximized and your attendees have a truly unforgettable experience. 

What does incentive travel mean? 

Incentive travel refers to travel experiences offered to employees or customers as a reward for achieving specific goals, targets, or milestones. It is a way to recognize and celebrate their hard work, dedication, and loyalty to your organization.  

Incentive travel programs typically offer participants a unique and memorable travel experience that they might not otherwise have the opportunity to enjoy. These experiences can include exotic, luxurious, or adventurous destinations, such as an all-expenses-paid trip to a fun Spanish island, a ski trip in the French Alps, a cultural tour of a historic Italian city, or a sailing adventure in Portugal. 

Incentive trips can also include team-building activities, networking opportunities, and special events that help participants to build relationships, increase their skills and knowledge, and further their personal and professional development. 

Overall, incentive travel is a powerful tool for organizations to motivate and incentivize their employees, partners, and customers while providing them with unique and memorable experiences that can help boost morale, engagement, and loyalty. 

Incentive Travel Planners – How To Get Started With Incentive Travel?

Incentive travel is a great way to enrich your company’s culture and increase productivity, and working with incentive travel planners is the most effective way to build a successful incentive travel program in your workplace. If you are new to the world of incentive travel you may be wondering, what exactly is incentive travel and how does it work? Incentive travel is a proven way to boost morale and productivity in the workplace, by incentivizing performance with travel rewards. This works by setting goals that need to be met during a certain period of time in order to be rewarded with the travel plans. Incentive travel planners will establish an easy tracking system to keep tabs on your employees progress. This is an exciting way to bring friendly competition into the work space and encourage team building. 

How do incentive travel services help this process? In addition to establishing your incentive program, goal tracking, and promoting the program, incentive travel planners will also handle all the details of your trip. Planning large scale group travel is very intricate and without professional help it is easy to misstep, resulting in hang ups that can impact the trip. Incentive travel planning services will handle everything including traveler registration, flights and hotels, destination planning, activities, and more, so you can focus on your trip without worrying about the details. If you want to work with incentive travel planning experts who can provide all of this and more, Incentive Travel Solutions can help. 

Benefits Of Working With Incentive Travel Solutions:

• Program Set Up and Tracking
• Global Travel Knowledge 
• Expert Travel Price Negotiation
• Flight and Hotel Booking
• Easy Online Traveler Registration
• Event and Activity Planning
• On Site Travel Managers

Want To Learn More About Incentive Travel Planners?

If you would like to speak with skilled incentive travel planners, contact Incentive Travel Solutions here! Incentive Travel Solutions is a trusted name in corporate travel who is ready to help you enrich your company culture. Call today to learn more!

You might also like

Recent Travel Articles

IMPORTANT PAGES

• The WOW Factor
• Airline Contract Negotiation
• Hotel Contract
• Intriguing destinations
• On-Site Travel Staff
• Flawless Web Registration
• Rewards & Recognition
• Travel Articles
• Executive Team

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience and security.

• Events Portfolio
• Conferences & Meetings
• Incentive Travel
• Awards & Special Events
• Virtual Events and Hybrid Events
• Team building & Training
• Venue Sourcing
• Event Technology
• Attendee Management
• Travel Management
• Strategic Meetings Management
• Entertainment Travel
• Case Studies
• Event Travel Management Blog
• Event Travel Management News
• Contact ETM

Local solutions, delivered globally

ETM provides local service solutions to customers around the world. Please select your local region, and start experiencing the ETM difference!

26 August 2021

A guide to incentive travel programmes and experiences

Incentive travel is a way for companies to reward their top-performing employees with a vacation or trip, paid for by the company. many corporations use incentive travel to recognise their top employees or to drive sales through non-direct employee channels such as insurance agents, car dealers, or direct sellers., what is incentive travel .

At the most basic level, incentive travel aims to boost employee performance and engagement, while  driving business goals . Incentive travel can be a group trip or an individual vacation for your top employees and their spouses or family. Trips can be a blend of leisure and professional development time.

What are the benefits of incentive travel to employees? 

Travel delivers two major benefits to your achievers:

• Lasting memories and stronger relationships. Incentive travel experiences build a lasting memory that directly correlates to the achievement. Group travel often provides achievers with quality interactions with the host organisation’s leaders and other top achievers, building key relationships. Achievers are more likely to remember a private viewing of the Sistine Chapel, a trip to the Panama Canal, or a beach volleyball game with their CEO more than how they spent their last bonus or merit increase. Research studies  show that these lasting memories encourage continued achievement.
• A better support network. When organisations allow spouses or families to attend the travel programmes, it also helps the achiever build their support network at home. Families understand the achiever’s drive and encourage their hard work when they also experience the benefit.

What are the benefits of incentive travel to organisations? 

• Performance and productivity gains – particularly amongst mid-level performers.  Mid-level performers have the potential to become high performers. According to the Incentive Research Foundation (IRF), the  potential performance gains from your “middle 80%” of employees are likely more significant than your top 10% of performers. When a corporation successfully shifts these mid-level performers towards higher rather than low performance, incremental productivity delivers ROI.
• The magic of gratitude and increased loyalty.  Incentive travel is a reward and recognition programme designed to motivate and show gratitude to performers that rise to the challenge set by the programme. Appreciation often drives connection and engagement. Incentive travel programmes can build loyalty with employees, customers, or any other target incentive audience.

How do organisations create and structure incentive programmes?

Many organisations opt to have tiered incentive programmes, which help to drive achievement at multiple levels. For example, perhaps only the top 1 – 3% earn a travel incentive. In comparison, the top 10% earn other types of incentives, including merchandise and gift cards.

In the past, it was also common for organisations to tier their travel incentive offering. Perhaps a top achiever would go on a long-haul, “once-in-a-lifetime” trip, whereas lower tiers would go on shorter trips closer to home. Another option is to tier a single trip where top earners fly first class, receive suite upgrades, or attend a completely exclusive event during the trip, such as a private picnic on top of a mountain accessible only by helicopter.

More recently, we are seeing organisations opt for individual incentive travel options in which achievers can choose from either a pre-arranged trip or receive a travel voucher and create a customised trip.

How is an incentive programme implemented?

Corporations often use incentive travel companies with expertise in this area who can assist with implementing some or all components of an incentive travel programme, which includes the following steps:

• Set goals.  Outline your goals for your programme, including ROI. For example, a sales team incentive trip might be generating a set number of new leads, or increasing sales amongst a target market or vertical.
• Outline rewards and rules.  The rewards should be compelling enough to be motivating and align with the objective. Clearly stated rules also help to avoid disappointment and surprises when a performer earns (or doesn’t earn) the reward.
• Launch. The best incentive programmes include a launch strategy that clearly outlines objectives, rules, and rewards along with an ongoing communication campaign and tracking system so that performers know where they stand. Communications remind the audience pool about the incentive, and tracking systems allow your audience to know where they are in the running to receive the incentive, so they continue to perform to reach the goals you’ve outlined.
• Deliver rewards. Delivering the reward is the crux of the programme and must be done professionally. Each earner has worked hard to achieve the reward, and they should receive it in a way that demonstrates the proper level of appreciation. Incentive professionals design the overall attendee management experience starting before attendees leave their homes, during the trip and right until they return home. An incentive trip that is poorly executed produces a negative attendee experience and can be demotivating – the opposite effect of the trip’s goal.

The bottom line? Incentive travel programmes are an investment that enhances performance, fosters loyalty, and inspires your achievers – a win/win scenario for corporations and their employees.

Motivate your employees to maximum performance

Want to know more about incentive travel programmes.

Take the stress out of event management with our expert event planning team.

Related Articles

How incentive travel programmes drive performance & growth

Celebrating the value of in-person business events and meetings

Do business events and meetings strengthen company culture?

Research / 2023 Incentive Travel Index

Incentive Travel Index

2023 incentive travel index.

by Incentive Research Foundation

Las Vegas, October 16, 2023 . The newly released 2023 Incentive Travel Index (ITI) reports that, overall, the incentive travel industry is strong. Growth is projected through 2025 for both number of people participating in incentive trips as well as per-person spend. That said, tangible financial ROI and concerns around cost are indexing higher than previous studies, highlighting a underlying caution that stems from an uncertain geo-political, economic, and environmental backdrop. While industry-wide trends emerged, the study reflects variation by geography as well as by industry sector.

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.

“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.”

“Incentive travel is expected to be fresh and exciting, with 71% of our respondents indicating an increased demand for new destinations not used before,” said Stephanie Harris , IRF President. “With projected growth and increased demand, incentive professionals will also have to contend with challenges of availability, lift, and access to local resources. The supply chain for incentive travel experiences can be complex, so it’s critical to form strong partnerships with suppliers, including hotels, DMOs, and DMCs.”

For additional key findings from the 2023 Incentive Travel Index study as well as reports from previous years, visit https://www.incentiveindex.com/.

About the Incentive Travel Index

Now in its sixth year, The Incentive Travel Index is a collaboration between IRF and SITE Foundation . With research partner Oxford Economics, the organizations have again created an indispensable annual report on the state of incentive travel, providing data on current and future evolution.

The 2023 online survey, fielded globally from June – July 2023. More than 2,400 incentive travel professionals participated in the survey. Respondents represented five distinct incentive travel professional roles: corporate end user, third party agency, DMC, destination supplier and DMO.

The 2023 Incentive Travel Index has been supported by Accor, Destination Canada, IMEX Group, Hilton, ITA Group, Tourism New Zealand, and Tango.

Related Posts

View all research.

2022 Incentive Travel Index

The newly released 2022 Incentive Travel Index (ITI) reports that, overall, the incentive travel industry is strong. Recovery is progressing, program design is evolving and there is increased interest in new destinations. While industry-wide trends emerged, the study reflects variation by geography as well as by sector. The ITI enables incentive industry professionals to target the data…

incentive travel

The State of International Incentives

The IRF, in conjunction with The Plam Beaches, gathered a group of corporate incentive program owners and third-party incentive house executives from Europe and Canada to discuss their primary influencers and drivers of incentive destination decisions.

IRF Updates Sign Up

Email Address*

First Name*

Industry Role* —Please choose an option— End-user / Program Owner Third Party Buyer Supplier Media Academic/Research Other

Supplier Role* —Please choose an option— Hotel Merchandise Gift Card CVB DMC Other

Where are you based?* —Please choose an option— North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America and the Caribbean Africa

I consent to receive IRF updates and announcements via email. For further information, please consult the Privacy Policy.

What are the benefits of incentive travel programs & rewards?

Throughout America, Europe and Asia, budgets for incentive travel are growing as companies recognise the benefits and move away from monetary awards and mandated corporate events.

In this article, we learn why incentive travel programs are so popular and look at the benefits for both organisations and employees. ‍

What are the benefits of incentive travel?

Corporate incentive travel programs have become increasingly popular as a way of achieving goals and rewarding top performers. As organisations recognise the benefits of incentive trips, allocated budgets have grown exponentially from 0.5% in 2018 to almost 6% in 2022.

So why have travel incentive programs become so popular? And what makes them preferable over traditional monetary rewards? ‍

Benefits of incentive travel for employers

At one time, organisations would disregard incentive travel programs because they considered them to be exuberant and unnecessary with little tangible value. 

But that school of thought is on the way out.

Leading companies now agree that incentive travel programs are highly effective with a measurable ROI.

• Tangible benefits: It will come as no surprise that monetary incentives are still the leading reason organisations invest in incentive travel programs. A study by IRF in 2019 deemed that “increased sales and/or profits for the company” is still the leading benefit of incentive travel. Hard dollars and corporate profitability are, naturally, of the utmost importance. ‍
• Soft power benefits: While increased sales and profits are still the primary reason organisations are using incentive travel awards, IRF’s 2019 study found that “soft power” benefits such as higher employee engagement , better productivity, improved relationship-building between employees and management and the retention of employees and partners are becoming more important to buyers. But that doesn’t mean “soft benefits” don’t produce monetary rewards.  Motivated employees are inspired to develop themselves professionally and reach higher levels of success. This leads to improved performance, more sales and, eventually, increased revenue. ‍
• Additional benefits: The benefits of incentive travel permeate deep into the fabric of your organisation which can cause some benefits to escape unnoticed. Improved performance can be quite simply correlated to incentive travel programs. But what about other factors?  Consider, for example, how your long-term employees could serve as ambassadors for your brand and inspire new hires to reach their full potential, or how a united workforce demonstrating a strong company culture helps attract top-level talent from your competitors.  These more subtle benefits form part of a high-performing organisational ecosystem that gives you a significant competitive advantage. ‍

Benefits of incentive travel for employees

Despite the obvious joy of a free holiday, incentive travel initiatives provide many benefits for employees:

• Improved growth opportunities: Incentive trips allow employees to transgress the often impenetrable barriers of the corporate hierarchy. This nurtures their emotional bond with the company and enables them to connect with corporate heavyweights.  Creating opportunities for employees to further their careers is critical for job satisfaction. Most of your employees don’t want to be stuck in the same role forever, they want to grow and take on more responsibility. ‍
• Stronger interpersonal connections: Incentive travel also provides employees with quality time away from the office, allowing them to build strong relationships and lasting memories. These connections contribute to job satisfaction and improve collaboration.  Strong emotional ties increase the likelihood of an employee going the extra mile or supporting a colleague, even when the task at hand doesn't pertain directly to their role. This is a great indicator that your employees are satisfied and engaged at work. ‍
• Recognition of contributions: Employees want their hard work to be acknowledged. That shouldn’t come as a shock. According to a SurveyMonkey study of 1,500 employees Americans, 82% of employees are happier when they’re recognised at work .  Travel rewards are a fantastic way of demonstrating appreciation to an employee and making an example of their efforts. When mid-level employees see that their top-performing peers are being well rewarded, they’re more likely to reach strive for success themselves. ‍

Why are incentive travel programs so effective?

People value experiences more than things , that’s what makes incentive travel programs so effective.

The prospect of jetting off on a five-day trip to Hawaii with friends and colleagues is much more appealing than a cash bonus, and once word starts to spread about a potential holiday in the tropics, excitement in the office will build quickly.

This buzz is fundamental to the effectiveness of an employee incentive program — nobody wants to be left behind while the rest of the team packs their swimming trunks. This motivates the potential earner to work harder to meet the criteria for the trip.

In the IRF’s June 2021 study , The Impact of Destination Choice on Motivation , they reported that group incentive travel awards are considered ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ motivating by 80% of survey respondents. ‍

Why monetary rewards don’t help you meet your company goals

Traditionally, managers would motivate behaviours with monetary rewards. But now, 84% of U.S. businesses are using non-cash incentives to push their agendas and as many as 40% are using recognising employee contributions with travel rewards.

That’s because cash rewards aren’t effective motivators. Sure, nobody is going to turn down a juicy end-of-year bonus, but they aren’t sufficient for encouraging new behaviours.

Cash is fleeting. It generates temporary pleasure that’s almost immediately squandered on mundane responsibilities like mortgage payments, credit card debts and utility bills. It’s also extremely personal and doesn’t generate excitement at a group level. 

To turn a mid-level performer into a top-level performer, the reward needs to be highly attractive, like a long weekend in Athens , perhaps?

free course

How to plan your first company retreat

Retreat Budget Spreadsheet

Are you organising a company retreat and want to make sure you have all the costs under the control?

Get a copy of our free Budget Calculator spreadsheet.

Understanding attrition vs turnover rates and improving them

11 Signs of workplace complacency & how to stop the rot

Nail the Zoom boom: 25 Virtual employee appreciation ideas

7 Modern personal appraisal methods to level up motivation

14 Creative ways to embrace International HR Day

Organize your next company retreat with surf office, 💌 join 17,000+ managers receiving insights on building company culture that people love., stay in touch, work with us.

(800) 722-5934

Corporate Incentives, Meetings & Charters

What Is Incentive Travel?

Incentive travel is defined as a trip designed to motivate, incentivize, and reward employees or business associates. This type of trip could range from being given to one individual, all the way up to large group awards made available only after certain targets have been met throughout the year.

You can use incentive travel as a team-building experience, networking opportunity, or simply as a reward for those who’ve earned it. Get the formula right, offer a suitably enticing award and the concept of incentive travel will contribute towards your team being motivated to achieve ever-higher targets.

Who Is Incentive Travel Best For?

Incentive travel is best for companies that want to reward their employees for a job well done, or for meeting targets. Incentive travel is perfect for companies that don’t necessarily want to reward employees exclusively with cash benefits, but still want to make sure every employee feels recognized and appreciated.

Incentive travel trips should be highly cost-effective at scale, thanks to competitive corporate pricing, and experientially rewarding in a way that other gifts or bonuses may not be. The benefits of an exotic trip, often with a chance to bring a partner, are intangible, too; employees feel a sense of bonding with one another and a feeling of being valued by their employer.

What is incentive travel at its core? A high-value, cost-efficient way to reward your employees with a luxury experience that builds relationships, loyalty, and team spirit.

Why Should You Implement an Incentive Travel Program?

The reasons for incentivizing your employees are endless from a business perspective, and incentive travel is simply a great tool to do it efficiently. Incentive trips for employees offer a unique way for them to travel and explore new places. Customized events and experiences take travel beyond the ordinary. An incentive trip allows employees the time and freedom to bond with their peers outside of work without distractions or interruptions.

Running a successful business involves a lot of variables, and keeping your teams motivated is one of them. Setting company goals, individual goals, and benchmark anniversaries go hand-in-hand with keeping your team focused and in line for success. Incentive travel offers a  great way to thank your employees for what they do, and celebrate their success together. It’s also a great perk for hiring new employees, particularly when company incentive trips reach legendary status and are talked about with anticipation.

Incentive travel is perfect for corporate groups, distributor meetings, board-level events or individual prizes. It can really be used for any reason, and can be scaled to fit both large and small groups when needed. Celebrity Cruises offers a wide range of exciting itineraries all over the world that are ideal options for companies wanting to offer a high-value, luxurious award.

Why Should I Choose a Cruise for Incentive Travel?

A cruise is a popular choice as an incentive award among companies worldwide, for many reasons. A premium cruise is a unique experience, giving guests the opportunity to see many different exotic destinations in one single trip.

Cruises also provide an elevated setting that rivals any of the best hotels, while offering all sorts of opportunities for customization and further rewards. On a Celebrity cruise ship, there are opportunities for meals in exclusive venues, private cocktail events, tailor-made shore excursions , and, if required, a meeting element in a private function room. Add in calls at some of the most glamorous and exciting ports on earth and you have a tremendous reward with which to motivate your team.

How Do I Plan an Incentive Travel Trip With Celebrity Cruises?

Incentive travel with Celebrity Cruises is cruising at its finest. It’s an immersive, exciting, adventurous experience that will make lifelong memories for your team. You can expect service at the highest level, as well as a dedicated event manager to ensure that your whole experience runs flawlessly, leaving you, the host, time to bond with your team and colleagues.

We have dedicated teams to help you plan your itineraries and events, create custom-designed shore excursions, manage budgets, and add in extra levels of recognition for your top performers, from spa treatments to suite accommodation.

The first step in planning your incentive group travel is to think about what you’re looking for. A short getaway to the Bahamas, with minimal impact on work time? Or the trip of a lifetime to the Galapagos for your elite performers? Experiences ashore, or private dinners and parties on board? For a big event, you may even want to consider a private charter of one of our ships.

Once you’ve identified the purpose of your incentive trip, your budget and the size of your group, it’s time to start planning. Choose between more than 300 destinations worldwide, and over 3,000 different shore excursions. You’ll find cruises year-round, so finding dates will be flexible and convenient to you. 

We offer a wide variety of elevated staterooms , all of which are meticulously appointed and beautifully designed, offering the service level of a world-class hotel. Dining options range from casual poolside fare to dining experiences. Whatever the award you have in mind, we can find the perfect fit on any one of our premium, modern ships.

What is incentive travel to us? It’s a way to help businesses say “thank you” to the hard-working people for making it happen on a daily basis. It’s a way to share the unique reward of travel with those who’ve earned it the most. To learn more about our incentive travel programs, contact us here or call us at 1-800-722-5934.

THAT AVIATION'S BLOG

Latest news and information on travel, trends, aircraft and air chartering, when, why and how to organize an incentive travel.

• November 14, 2019

WHAT ARE THE PURPOSES OF AN INCENTIVE TRAVEL

What does an incentive travel mean? What are incentive travel programs and why do companies invest part of their budget in this direction?

“An incentive travel , or incentiv e, is a company management tool that motivates employees , external collaborators (eg agents and representatives) or company clients in order to increase and/or to improve the productivity/sales. “

This definition taken from Wikipedia helps us to describe this important tool used by companies to stimulate their employees/clients towards achievement of goals set in their planning. This is a marketing strategy , a very effective motivational tool , which involves various sectors hotels, restaurants, tourism and transport (in particular that of aviation and of charter flights ) and which represents an important market segment whose trend, after a period of stalemate, is again positive and in continuous and constant growth.

In this article, we will try to explain the importance of this segment of the Tourism , the trends and the best travel destinations most requested in 2020; how to organize an incentive travel and how That Aviation Italia can make an important contribution in the realization of a successful event.

1) Why invest in an incentive trip to reach the company goals?

2) Incentive, Team Building, Convention & Co. What are the market data?

3) How to organize at best your motivational event?

4) What are the 2020 most requested incentive travel destinations?

5) What are the most used means of transport for an incentive?

6) How THAT! can make the difference in the organization of a dedicated charter flight?

Why invest in an incentive trip to reach the company goals?

An increasing number of companies use part of their corporate budget for events such as conventions , team building and incentive travel .

Why use part of your budget , which can also be rather significant, t o organize an “ all-expense-paid trip ” for your employees, external collaborators or for your clients? Simple, because an incentive trip is an investment that improves the productivity of the company.

Of course, it costs, but this sort of travel is a real investment in the most important capital of the company – the human one.

And, as we know, companies are not made only of products and services, but first of all they are made of people who, with their contribution, make the difference.

This is why companies invest in this type of travel as a motivational tool. And it is known that a motivated employee or a client, achieves better results.

But incentive is also able to stimulate other factors that affect profitability and production: it makes the individual members feel part of a team.

Every person involved feels part of a larger project and becomes aware of his role within the overall design, it gives an individual sense of responsibility towards the same company or reinforces it.

The prestige of the Brand becomes a matter of which each one feels responsible for and the improvement of the reputation and of the success of the company/Brand becomes a personal goal. All in a teamwork perspective. Another key factor is the loyalty program . A satisfied client or an employee who feels appreciated has no reason to look for an alternative. They will remain close to the company.

Therefore, to sum it up, what are the advantages of an incentive trip ?

• It increases work motivation of employees, external collaborators, clients;
• It creates the sense of belonging to a working group ;
• It encourages the teamwork ;
• Increases the sense of responsibility at work;
• It establishes the prestige of the Company and the growth of its reputation ;
• It helps to build the loyalty of the clients, employees, external collaborators;
• It improves production, sales and increases profitability results.

Therefore, seen in this light, are we sure that business incentive trips must be included in “costs”?

Continue reading

Incentive, Team Building, Convention & Co. What are the market data?

After a difficult period, due to the economic crisis, which created a stalemate in the sector, in the past two years the market has resumed a growing trend, and now, growth became really significant.

To confirm it there are data declared by the most authoritative national Incentive Travel Agencies .

Italian companies have returned to planning incentive trips and, above all, events with large number of participants .

The aspects related to gratification and the results obtained from the investment in incentive trips , show profound and long-lasting positive effects.

The “secret” lays in creating a trip that can be transformed into unique experiences, with a range of activities that the participants would not be able to live if they had travelled on their own.

The scheduled appointments must be connected to each other and lead the group to create a continuity in the lived experience, which should be able to involve and to amaze, and which would be different from what they could have experienced if they visited the destination on their own.

Today’s public wish to live the place in a profound way, they want to be involved on an emotional and introspective level . Therefore, the choice of the activities proposed during the event becomes crucial for the involvement and achievement of success: the experience must be “unique”.

A recent research conducted by the Incentive Research Foundation ( IRF ), the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence ( SITE ) and the Financial and Insurance Conference Professionals ( FICP ) together with Oxford Economics highlight interesting data detected by Incentive Travel Agencies involved.

Here are some of the most interesting questions:

a) What are the most important advantages that your company records from incentive travel programs?

• 55% – increase in sales and/or in profits following an incentive travel;
• 34% – increase in individual productivity ;
• 32% – greater commitment to teamwork ;
• 27% – improvement of relationship between company management and employees .

b) What is the approximate cost per person (total cost of the program divided by the number of people) for incentive trips scheduled in 2019 your team was responsible for?

• North America – $ 4,206.00 *
• Western Europe – $ 2,483.00
• Other – $ 2,816.00

* Take into account the historical lack of critical alternative infrastructures into the US air travel. The rail network is not widespread and well-structured as in Europe, and travel is mainly by air.

c) Assuming that there are no two equal incentive programs, how is the expenditure budget divided into the incentive program?

• 29% – Hotels
• 22% – Air transfer
• 21% – Food and Beverage
• 15% – Scheduled activities
• 9% – Land transfer
• 7% – Other

d) How have the numbers of an incentive trips participants (staff, guests and other participants) in 2019 changed compared to the last year?

• 35% – From +1% to +10%
• 12% – From +11% to over +20%
• 32% – no change
• 10% – From +1% to -5%
• 14% – From -6% to over – 20%

e) Which are the most important costs you foresee in the next two years (2020/2021) that will affect spending per person in the organization of your incentive trips ?

• 63% – Hotels Cost
• 56% – Cost of transfers airplane
• 54% – Food and Beverage
• 44% – MICE Travel Destinations
• 20% – the program duration ;

The following items are of particular interest:

• 35% – Luxury location
• 11% – Luxury aircraft

f) What actions is your Incentive Travel Agency undertaking in order to be more competitive and offer added value to your travel plans ?

• 73% – Offering exclusive and unique experiences
• 36% – Greater assistance and services at the same cost
• 35% – Higher service offer
• 34% – Discounts proportionate to the number of confirmed incentive programs
• 32% – Flexibility of payments

g) What are the key elements that made your clients contact your Incentive travel agency ?

• 66% – Reputation
• 60% – Creativity and innovation of proposed programs
• 59% – Skills and prompt responses to the requests
• 53% – Reliability and former relationship

How to organize your motivational events at their best?

It is possible to be confused between two very similar terms but with a completely different meaning: Incentives and Incentive Travel .

An incentive is an economic reward, a gift. An incentive trip is not only a reward, but it is an experience and, as such, it is unique and unrepeatable . A trip is an incomparable thing.

There will always be someone who makes a more expensive gift or a higher discount, but two trips are never comparable because they are always unique and therefore far more effective from a gratification point of view.

In fact, according to numerous industry researches, over half of the employees (and also clients!) prefer an incentive trip to any other corporate benefit. But in order to be remembered as a “unique experience”, an excellent organization of the trip is not enough, it must be surprising, memorable and extraordinary.

An Incentive trip can be organized directly by the Company, if it has a specific department in charge. Otherwise it is possible contact a specialized incentive travel agency , which with its professionalism and knowledge, will offer the best solution according to the client’s expectations and available budget. And in Italy, we have the top agencies!

But what kay steps must be made in order to organize a successful event ?

a) The choice of the destination Don’t be afraid to experiment with new destinations. Do not be repetitive in the proposal otherwise the “prize” will become less desirable and will make the magic of discovery fade. You can range in the choice and opt for a national or medium/long-range event. A new and different experience allows us to connect the name of the Brand to the moment lived (for example, a good lunch), to the location and to the event itself. Obviously, the choice also depends on the budget, the duration and the number of participants.

b) Establish the right date Choose a date that does not coincide with a holiday or a holiday period, so as not to embarrass your guests and risk not having the desired feedback. Furthermore, evaluate the period according to the climatic conditions of the chosen destination and define the event in a period in which the absence of your employees/customers does not excessively damage productivity or sales. Choosing the right date is not an easy task and it could take time and patience but, crossing some data, your team and/or Incentive Travel Agency will certainly find the most congenial one.

c) Create personalized offers for your guests Find out about the tastes and habits of your guests in order to find a formula that everyone can enjoy. If, for example, the participants are a mixed team in which some members are sport fans while others do not like physical activities and prefer to visit monuments, make sure to choose a destination that can offer both possibilities. If, instead, your purpose is to encourage your guests to spend more time together, propose common activities in which everyone can feel at ease. Choose from formulas like with a stay in Hotel , Residence , resort or Touring , if you are thinking about several stops to visit. If your guests are football fans, combine your incentive trip to an expected and heartfelt match; if they are passionate about food and wine, propose them a tasting of fine wines. In short, try to create a special experience that remains etched and that links the company’s Brand to a particular moment you are offering them .

d) Organize your incentive trip step by step, setting yourself precise goals What do you want to achieve with your incentive trip ? Do you want to present your latest product through a convention ? Do you want to increase cohesion within your team ? Do you want to reward your clients (or collaborators) for achieving an exceptional result? Always keep in mind the purpose of your event and build the agenda of activities based on the motivations that led you to invest in the organization of your incentive trip . The answers to the goals you set will lead to different solutions to reach the goal and to create an effective return and general satisfaction.

e) Create unique experiences Propose experiences that your guests could not live if they visited the destination on their own. Forget the standard guided tours and opt for a creative solution, perhaps in a vintage car! Offer a gala dinner in a renowned starred restaurant maybe prepared by a renowned chef nor accompanied by entertainment with well-known characters that guests would never expect to see live and so closely. Never forget that an incentive trip has a motivational purpose (to increase productivity): no one feels motivated by a situation that has nothing new and surprising.

What are the most requested 2020 incentive travel destinations?

What are the most important considerations to make when choosing an incentive trip destination? We have just seen that the choice of the destination is very important because it must be attractive to the guest and because it must be able to offer the right alternatives of experiences to be lived , based on heterogeneity of the participants.

Beyond these factors, it is also important to consider other factors, such as:

• The security of the participants It is evident that it is necessary to consider the political stability of the chosen destination. A classic example is Egypt which in the early 2000s was one of the most favourite incentive destinations, and which for a long time was then set aside due to the unstable situation. Now, fortunately, it has returned to be safe and the country again an increasingly growing tourist destination .
• Qualified infrastructures A good offer of high-level infrastructures is indispensable for the organization of a successful event . These locations must be able to satisfy the aesthetics, comfort and pleasantness of the staying – better, if it gives the luxury feeling – as well as the most purely working aspect like the availability of a conference room roomy with efficient technological equipment , etc. Carefully choose the accommodation facility and consider also the presence of a SPA , a wellness centre and a gym , in order to allow your guests to have the opportunity to enjoy moments of total relaxation .
• The distance and the flight hours, necessary to reach the destination
• When planning an incentive program, it is important to take into account the flight hours necessary to reach the chosen destination. If the project is a three-day stay, a long-haul destination that requires many flight hours it certainly is not the most congenial solution. Make an accurate assessment of the aviation and land transfer hours and follow the advices of the sector experts – like That Aviation Italia or other agencies specialized in incentive travel – which will suggest the destinations that best suit the purpose of the trip, taking into account your planning requirements.

On that note, the 2020 most highly requested incentive destinations for That Aviation Italia are short/medium haul flights. Specifically, the most popular are:

• Marrakech ;
• Reykjavík .

What are the most used means of transport for an incentive?

If the choice of a destination and of a location are highly important for the success of your corporate event , but no less important are the care and the choice of means of transport and of logistics . Transports are part of the reservation and of the organization which is prior to the stay and are absolutely fundamental not only from a logistical point of view but also from the emotional one.

Let us never forget that an incentive trip among its purposes has that of creating a strong spirit of belonging, of sharing and group . This mechanism triggers upon departure , from the moment of check-in and of the luggage delivery .

The choice of the means of transport is , therefore, very important because it is from here that you begin to build the success of the event .

It is necessary to be methodical, coherent, to have a “ roadmap ” and, at the same time be ready to face unexpected situations (last minute changes, non-standard requests) with elasticity and capacity of problem solving .

That is why many Incentive Houses rely on THAT! for the flight’s management of those incentive trips they are in charge of!

And this task is not only limited within the choice between scheduled flights, low-cost flights or private plane ( charter ) but it also includes the management of feeder flights , when the participants are located in different geographical areas and the group departs from a specific airport (or different airports, depending on the situation). This is a complex job, which must be continuously updated until the moment of the departure and which can be modified even at moment of the take-off of the return flight/s. This job also includes an issuing of air ticketing (not always necessary in the case of charter flights ).

Considering the fact that one of the purposes of incentive trips is to make the participants feel part of a group , being rewarded and giving them the feeling of “ uniqueness ” of the trip – it is clear that it is difficult to reach this goal with scheduled or low-cost flights .

On these programmed flights , it is impossible to make distinction between a normal passenger and an incentive participant: the group loses cohesion and disperses among the individual passengers. At the same time a charter private is custom “built” for the event and, consequently, it is totally customizable.

In addition, both scheduled and low-cost flights are scheduled on fixed routes: departure from airport A and arrival at airport B.

A flight charter may be scheduled according to the actual logistical requirements of a specific MICE and it may also reach other airports, not only the traditional ones. Smaller airports which are closer to the chosen location and which allow, therefore, to reduce the transfer time by land (more tedious and tiring) from the arrival airport to the established reception facility.

Even the departure time of both departure and return, is established according to the needs of the client , in order to the benefit the meeting agenda and the organization of the event .

But there is more!

A private plane allows you to create a real community of “chosen ones ” and to customize the on-board catering , welcome message , a maximum luggage weight, the airplane’s interior and fuselage branding – all these make the journey and the event unique.

Remember that the way your guests travel will have a fundamental impact on the entire journey.

And it is no longer just a question of com fort : it is a question of sharing , of storytelling and of the sense of belonging .

The company logo that will distinguish the head rest covers, or the wrapping paper of chocolates which will be offered during the catering service , the catering itself – customized and carefully defined together with the beverage proposal (variety and choice of the wine house included) – the company name and the logo on the airplane fuselage and in the check-in area, assure the affirmation of the Brand , its prestige and its notoriety. And for sure, it will make your guests feel part of something absolutely unique and exclusive.

It is from here that the team building process begins, which reflects the nature of the incentive trip!

What THAT! can offer to make the difference in the organization of a dedicated charter?

That Aviation Italia is among the air charter brokers leaders on the Italian market and incentive trips are one of the main elements of its core business.

With its 15 years presence in the market of charter flights and ad hoc charter private planes , it is able to offer a wide choice of aircraft and a wide range of services to make unique and special any type of corporate event .

First of all, THAT! is proposed as an expert consultant in the field of charter commercial aviation and of executive general aviation to guide to the most congenial choice to the features of your incentive .

Our service is not limited within a simple private plane chartering , but it is expanded to an assistance 24/7, which we provide:

• During the flight’s planning phase;
• At the moment of the departure from Italy with one of our assistants on board , who will support the check-in operations as well as luggage delivery and boarding ;
• During the company event , in order to manage in real-time, the eventual work in progress modifications;
• At the moment of the return (on request) with the on the spot presence of one of our airport assistants, who will support the check-in operations as well as the luggage delivery and boarding ;
• The post-event phase, in the eventuality of the post-flight practice management with the airline company .

Years of presence in the market and the reliability recognized to our company are the guaranty of our proficiency and of the reference point on national and international territory.

Besides the standard offerings such as Boeing , Airbus , Bombardier , Fokker , Embraer , Dornier and turboelica ATR airplanes, with time we have widen our offer with complete full business class ( BBJ ) which is very rare in the field of incentives , but which is able to elevate the event to that concept of luxury which, according to the recent data , i s an ever-increasing request in incentive , MICE and DMC sectors .

The airline companies we collaborate with in Italy , Spain , England , Greece and Lithuania are the real partners with whom we have productive mutual exchange in terms of support and privileged accesses to respective markets.

Recently we have implemented our offer with a ticketing service for the feeder flights departing from the requested airport . It is an additional advantage offered to Incentive Travel Agencies that relives them of an onerous task both in terms of time and energy. This way, t he entire flight’s management is grouped and managed both inside the Incentive Travel and directly by THAT! It is a double control made under a unique agreed management which guarantees security and accuracy.

Lastly, THAT! offers the service of the aircraft and the check-in area personalization , which includes all types of objects and messages in addition to the definition of the agreed on-board services both menu and beverages, the customization of the fuselage with a company logo and luggage weight/dimensions allowed, which is different from the standard ones.

That Aviation Italia is more than just an air charter broker: it is your partner in the organization of your private flights for your conventions , team building , MICE , DMC , incentive and company events with a large number of participants.

That Aviation Italia – beyond air chartering

For any further information and flight price quotation , please contact us.

Top Articles Read by Our Audience

• June 12, 2024

AVIATION SUSTAINABILITY: FLYING GREEN FOR THE FUTURE

• May 15, 2024

AIR CHARTER REVOLUTIONIZES SPORTS TEAM TRAVEL

• October 17, 2019

THAT AVIATION ITALIA RENEWS ITS LOGO

Subscribe to that newsletter.

That Aviation Italia, also known as THAT!, is a trusted partner for charter flights and private jet chartering.

ONLY WITH THAT!

THAT! assists in making your charter flight unique and increasing brand recognition through customisation that enhances its identity and inspires a collaborative spirit from the moment you arrive at the airport, providing ongoing support at every stage of the event.

AIR SERVICES

• Flights for sports teams
• Supporter team flights
• Flights for marathons and runners
• Flights for incentive, conventions and corporate events
• Series charters for tour operators
• Executive and business jets
• Flights for religious trips and pilgrimages
• Humanitarian flights
• Cargo plane
• Military transport
• ACMI Aircraft Leasing

© 2023 THAT AVIATION ITALIA SRL | Via Sempione, 39 21029 Vergiate (VA) Italia | P.IVA 09246270962 | Credits

• Daily Crossword
• Word Puzzle
• Word Finder
• Word of the Day
• Synonym of the Day
• Word of the Year
• Language stories
• All featured
• Gender and sexuality
• All pop culture
• Writing hub
• Grammar essentials
• Commonly confused
• All writing tips
• Pop culture
• Writing tips

Advertisement

incentive travel

• a vacation awarded to employees as a bonus in order to motivate them.