RECENTLY RELEASED at the IMEX America trade show in Las Vegas, the 2022 Incentive Travel Index (ITI) was global in scope. A collaboration between the Financial & Insurance Conference Professionals, the Society of Incentive Travel Excellence Foundation and the Incentive Research Foundation, this is the fourth joint study of incentive travel, albeit under a brand-new name. The 2022 online survey, fi elded globally from May to July 2022, was customized for fi ve distinct incentive travel professional roles. More than 1,400 incentive travel industry professionals, representing 19 industry verticals and 74 countries, participated. Due to the large numbers of employees who continue to work remotely, 91% of participants say employee retention and building engagement across teams are the top priorities for utilizing incentive travel programs, while 66% of buyers expect soft benefi ts, such as a focus on company culture, engagement and relationships, to be more important in future programs. Mary Joy Morgan, sales and incentive manager for GLP Worldwide, based in Markham, Ont., concurs with the focus on retention and engagement. “I have a group going to Las Vegas, and they want to do events as a group—showing appreciation to their staff is paramount to their program.” Another client of Morgan’s requested in-depth interaction with about 100 of his employees and clients, in order to build his relationship with them, thank them for their hard work and show his staff that his company is a good place to work. “I presented a program where I put them all, with their spouses, on a private train to Montreal. He was ecstatic with the amount of time he had to talk with them all.” PROGRAM DESIGN As a more diverse workforce now becomes a qualifi er for incentive travel, program inclusions have shifted to refl ect that. While relationship-building with colleagues still rates as the most important aspect of incentive travel at 72%, wellness activities rate a 35% share of a successful program. North American programs are still looking to stay a little closer to home this year, and the traditional destinations of the continental US, Mexico, the Caribbean and Hawaii all stand to benefi t from that. Just over half of all North American respondents (51%) intend to use all- inclusive resorts, and travel shorter distances. INCENTIVE TRAVEL REPORT BY THE NUMBERS HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2022 INCENTIVE TRAVEL INDEX Maundays Bay, Anguilla, British West Indies Employee retention and building engagement across teams are the top priorities now for incentive travel programs ACTIVITIES KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM • Activities that promote relationship -building 72% • Group cultural sightseeing experiences 66% • Luxury travel experiences/bucket-list destinations 58% • Group dining experiences 57% • Award celebrations 48% • Multiple options aimed at smaller groups 46% • Free time 46% Winter 2022/23 | Ignitemag.ca | 57
