Travel is the top noncash reward for incentive winners of
all ages, according to a new study by Society for Incentive Travel Excellence
and Maritz. The Power of Incentive Travel Across Generations queried 960 U.S.-based individuals, born between the years of 1946 and 2005, who had the opportunity
to earn travel through an incentive or recognition program over the past three
years.
The research found that incentive travel continues to work
powerfully across every generation. It also reveals that the profile of the
people earning travel, the assumptions behind program design and the meaning of
the rewards are shifting.
When respondents were asked to rate nine reward types for
motivational power, individual travel scored highest in the average rating for
all generations, with 61 percent of all respondents describing it as “extremely
motivating.” Group travel was the second-most popular reward, cited by 50 percent of those polled. Both forms of travel outperformed cash,
gift cards, points, private and public recognition.
According to SITE CEO Annette Gregg, the study confirms that
“travel is not under threat from cash. If anything, it is the other way around — cash is under threat from travel. Incentive travel remains the dominant
non-cash motivator across every generation.”
Incentive travel boosts loyalty and retention
The data also demonstrates the business case for incentive travel
is both measurable and strong. Among respondents who attended a trip in the
past three years, 89 percent said they were more likely to stay
in their job after winning a trip, 89 percent felt stronger loyalty to the
sponsoring company and 93 percent were eager to win again. More than half of
those polled described the
meaning of a group travel experience as “a feeling of achievement.”
Sarah Kiefer, vice president of brand, Maritz, said: “This data
matters because it moves the conversation beyond opinions and gut assumptions.
Incentive travel isn’t just a nice reward. It’s a real driver of retention,
loyalty and future performance. These findings give program owners a strong
business case which reinforces something we see all the time — the emotional
side matters. When more than half of people say a group travel experience feels
like an achievement, it’s clear the impact goes beyond the trip to create
deeper connections within the organization.”
Best practices for incentive travel
The study identified five best practices for incentive-travel
design:
- Guest inclusion and flexibility is the strongest driver of how
valued, special and loyal a winner feels.
-
Novelty matters: Incentive winners show a strong preference for new rather than repeat destinations.
-
Recognition should be included in trip design; Gen Z participants
consider it very important.
-
Winners prefer trips that are five nights or more. Preferences also include beach, island or
adventure destinations, and groups no larger than 50 participants.
-
Programs should include more departments than sales to reflect a
workforce that is now operations-heavy, technology-heavy and
multi-generational.
“The next generation of incentive travel [programs] will need to be
more intentional, more flexible and more inclusive. Guest choice, first-time
destinations, built-in recognition moments and experiences that reflect a
broader workforce are not ‘nice-to-have’ design details. They are the factors
that determine whether a trip feels personal, motivating and worth pursuing,” said Kiefer. “The message from the research is clear: incentive travel works,
but the best-performing programs will be those designed around current and
future qualifiers, not who the industry designed for in the past.”
According to Gregg, “This research gives our
industry a more sophisticated and more compelling story to tell. Incentive
travel continues to outperform other non-cash rewards across every generation,
but the data also shows that program needs to evolve. The workforce being
motivated by travel today is broader, more operationally focused and more
multi-generational than many traditional models assume. That creates a major
opportunity for buyers, DMCs, agencies, destinations and incentive professionals
to build programs that are more inclusive, more intentional and more effective.
Most importantly, it gives the industry the evidence it needs to defend
incentive travel in the C-suite, not as a discretionary reward, but as a
strategic tool for motivation, loyalty and performance.”