Incentive Travel and Engagement

A new study by the Incentive Research Foundation, Rebounding the Recession: The Future of Incentive Travel 2014, finds that incentive travel rewards are perfectly matched to the emerging needs of today’s multi-generational workforce and Corporate America’s simultaneous move toward enterprise engagement. Some highlights:

• Budgets Trending Up. In late 2010, the first signs of recovery were revealed as more planners began to increase budgets rather than cut them (44% vs. 24% respectively) – a trend that has continued.
• Fewer Cutbacks. Currently, less than 10% of planners say they will be reducing the number of nights or rooms for their programs heading into 2015.
• Wellness Winding Up. In-room yoga, healthy menus, readily-available spa water and a nice gym may have sufficed for “wellness” a few years ago, but such offerings are now considered commonplace and expected by most planners and travelers.
• Talent Wars. 81% of CEOs said they were concentrating on talent, an emphasis rivaled only by technology investment. This new motivational mindset meshes perfectly with the recent resurgence in noncash rewards & recognition programs as a primary tool in transferring best practices from top employees to up-and-comers.

Read the full report at www.TheIRF.org