As the only industry association dedicated exclusively to incentive travel, SITE and its sister Foundation have earned a reputation as the indisputable, indispensable go-to source for quality data, information and content on incentive travel in all its myriad guises.
Corporate inSITEs is a survey series undertaken by SITE Foundation in 2021 with responses provided exclusively by professionals in corporations whose remit includes the approval, oversight, design, planning, execution or delivery of incentive travel programs.
Last week, during SITE NITE all NITE, Selina Sinclair (pictured left), CEO, Realm & vice president, research & content, SITE Foundation, presented the results of this qualitative study to a virtual gathering of more than 800 global incentive travel professionals. “We received submissions from 50 U.S. companies who use incentive travel as a key driver for their reward and recognition programs. Following the widespread cancellation of programs in 2020, we wanted to determine how senior leadership now viewed incentive travel. The response was unambiguous: 94 percent remain 100 percent committed to their travel rewards, with only 6 percent reporting any wavering in commitment.”
President of SITE Foundation, Terry Manion (pictured right), adds: “The pandemic clearly hasn’t dulled our corporate clients’ appetite for incentive travel—if anything, it’s been sharpened by its absence—but, that said, the survey does spotlight some changes around success factors with contracts and risk mitigation now a priority for corporations planning programs. The spotlight, too, is firmly on destination selection with safety factors, and overall destination appeal, eclipsing all other considerations. By comparison, the 2019, pre-pandemic Incentive Travel Industry Index (a joint study produced by SITE Foundation, FICP and IRF) ranked infrastructure (hotels, resorts etc) in the top spot when it came to selecting a destination.”
The survey instrument fielded for a two week period between April 6 and 22. Questions asked for the corporate perspective on:
- Types of incentive travel and their likely increase or decrease in frequency over the next 3 years
- Impact of the pandemic on incentive, reward and recognition programs
- Time frame for resumption of domestic or international in-person meeting/event and incentive travel experience
- Changes being made to design of incentive travel program in light of the pandemic
- Attitude of corporate C-suite toward the resumption of incentive travel programs
- Considerations and criteria for selecting a destination in post pandemic world
- Biggest, most important learning as a result of the disruptions caused by Covid-19
A summary presentation of data in PDF and PPT formats is available here. SITE Foundation is currently producing a white paper incorporating both the survey results and extensive verbatim contributed via the survey instrument.
The Society for Incentive Travel Excellence is the only Business Events association dedicated exclusively to the global incentive travel industry. Founded in 1973, it is a professional association of 2,500 members located in 90 countries, working in corporations, agencies, airlines, cruise companies and across the entire destination supply chain. SITE brings value to members at both the global and local chapter levels by networking and providing online resources, education, certification and advocacy. SITE is deeply committed to the new generation and operates a best-in-class Young Leaders program and dedicated annual conference. For more info, visit siteglobal.com.
