A highlight of the SITE Global Conference was the Crystal Award ceremony, honoring top incentive programs and their planners (above, with SITE leadership).
The charming host city of Dublin gave a huge Irish welcome to the
Society of Incentive Travel Excellence’s 2022
Global Conference, which took place April 20-23 in the Convention Centre Dublin. The meeting, which drew
500 international attendees, marked the first time the incentive organization had gathered
in person since Jan. 2020.
The 26 education sessions focused on timely topics such as sustainability, how companies pivoted their programs during the pandemic and new best practices for incentive travel. During the panel "Expect the Unexpected," planners Kristin Huston, director of experience and engagement for Penn Mutual Life Insurance; Becky Pappas, travel account manager for Maritz Global Events; and Cosimo Bruzzese, vice president of global sales for PRA Business Events, stressed the importance of strong communication with partners and winners, managing participants' expectations in light of supply-chain and service shortages, and remaining flexible when programs get disrupted. In another presentation, Nick Woodward-Shaw, vice president of communications at Forever Living, shared a fascinating case study of how the aloe-vera-product company's annual travel program was translated into a virtual celebration for 150,000 participants who spoke 23 different languages.
A highlight of the conference was the SITE Crystal
Awards gala, which honored memorable incentive programs that “demonstrated
creativity and practicality during the most difficult period the incentive
travel industry has ever faced.”
“This is an incredibly special group of Crystal Award
winners,” said Kevin
Edmunds, MS, CITP, vice president of AIC Hotel Group and current president of SITE.
“They are all leaders in our industry, with the programs we recognized at this
year’s Crystal Awards Gala standing out as shining examples of incentive travel
programs being run smoothly and safely that still achieve the exacting, incredibly
high business aims all of us set out to deliver.”
Crystal Awards chair Ellie MacPherson,
CITP, senior vice president of Canada operations for the Creative Group, and a member of
SITE’s international board of directors, added, “By gathering together
in person as a global SITE community to celebrate the achievements of this
year’s Crystal Award winners, we are sending a strong signal as to the immense
power of incentive travel and its global business impacts. Our industry will
continue to rebound and recover, with incentive travel set to play an
increasingly important role in generating business results for corporations
while also reinforcing values and company culture.”
Following are the winners of the 2022 SITE Crystal Awards:
Excellence in Incentive Travel, North America: Liberty
Mutual Insurance, Trek
to Quebec
Most Creative Solution Deployed at a Time of Crisis (tie): H&R
Block and Maritz Global Events, 2021
Top Performers, and Motivation Excellence, Gem
Club 2020: From Kauai to Concierge
Best Standalone Virtual Celebratory Event: Forever Living
Products International, Forever
Global Rally at Home 2021
Best Virtual Motivational Experience: Event Partners Ireland
DMC, The
Cream of the Crop
Most Impactful Effort Toward Corporate Social Responsibility
as Part of an Incentive Program: HMI Performance Incentives, Manning
Destination Club
At the close of the conference, SITE revealed that the 2023
Global Conference, which will mark
the organization’s 50th anniversary, will be held in New York City.