SITE CEO Brenda
Anderson
Budget, accessibility and
destination appeal are firms’ top considerations when
creating travel rewards, according to a survey conducted by the
Society of Incentive & Travel Executives and InterContinental
Hotels Group.
The online poll of 220 SITE members
(the majority of respondents were destination management companies
and incentive firms) focused on industry trends, including the
following:
* Pharmaceutical (71 percent) and
insurance companies (70) percent) are the top users of incentive
programs. Finance (59 percent) and banking (58 percent) are next in
line, followed by auto manufacturers (53 percent),
telecommunications (41 percent) and high-tech firms (20
percent).
* The majority of incentive programs to
domestic destinations last three to four days; trips to
international destinations typically run five to seven days.
* Participants have a lot of freedom on
programs these days. According to respondents, 31 percent of
incentive winners’ time is spent relaxing, a finding that Brenda
Anderson, CEO of SITE, said speaks to the need for more downtime
based on today’s 24/7 lifestyles.
* The majority of groups, for both
domestic and international destination programs, have between 100
and 499 participants. Respondents anticipate the number of
participants will decline in the future, due to tougher
qualification rules.
* Topping the list of most popular
destinations for North America-based firms in 2006: Las Vegas;
Hawaii; New York City; Orlando; and Cancun, Mexico. For firms based
outside North America, the top spots were Barcelona, Spain; Rome;
Paris; London, and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Among the
“new” destinations North American groups are considering: Costa
Rica; Dubrovnik, Cro-atia; Prague, Czech Republic; and Athens,
Greece.