• The appeal of both group and individual travel remains extremely high, especially among younger (under 42 years) participants. The fact that incentive travel is so popular among younger people bodes well for the incentive travel industry’s future.
• Prior to the pandemic, there was a growing trend toward incentive travel participants wanting more individualization in their experiences. This trend has continued to grow as participants no longer want a ‘one-size-fits-all’ experience in which they spend their entire trip in the company of large groups of people. They now prefer a program that provides them with greater privacy and flexibility, even while participating in a group travel environment.
• Consistent with this idea of greater individuality, providing ample free time to relax was ranked as the most important priority for an incentive trip. Also consistent with the previous waves of the study is a strong desire to bring along a guest and for the trip to cover out of pocket expenses. Providing luxury accommodations also remains a high priority.
• Two-thirds of recent winners extended their trips to either the front end, back end, or both.
• Cruising has shown a very strong recovery. Cruising went from being bottom ranked as a destination experience in 2021, to being ranked only behind beach/sunshine and adventure travel in 2023 as preferred destination experiences. Millennials showed particular interest in cruising as an incentive experience.
• Even though large percentages of the participants have previously visited the Caribbean, Las Vegas, and Southern Florida, there is a high interest in returning and recommending these destinations as incentive destinations.
• The survey revealed possible is evidence of possible ‘Mexico fatigue.’ Fourteen percent (14%) of the sample have been on a recent incentive trip to Mexico, and 67% have visited Mexico previously. Yet, it is the destination people are the least likely to want to return, and there is also a low likelihood to recommend as an incentive destination.
• Even though Mexico may not be as popular with participants as in the past, it is growing in popularity with meeting planners. Mexican destinations had high booking rates, according to 2022 Cvent booking data.
• While Hawaii is as popular as ever among participants, it is the region that shows the greatest decline in bookings since 2021. This could be attributed to inventory and airline prices.
• United States destinations emerged as the big winners in the study. The Eastern United States surged into the top four preferred destinations for the first time in 2023.
• Interest in Western Europe declined from previous years but was still ranked among the top ten destinations.

Incentive travel continues to thrive as a motivational reward. Although the preferred structure and activities of the experiences continues to evolve, companies can be assured that offering incentive travel experiences is a great way to get the best possible sales performance from their employees.

1. Introduction
2. Methodology
3. Incentive Travel Awards Continue to Have High Motivational Appeal
4. Priorities of the Most Motivating Incentive Trips: Time to Relax & Flexibility
5. Length of Trip: 4 – 6 Days, But Many Extend
6. Destination Experiences: Beach & Sunshine Tops the List
7. Increased Interest in Incentive Travel Cruising
8. Previous Experiences with Destinations
9. Destination Preferences: Hawaii Still on Top, Domestic Rising
10. Preferences vs. Actual Planned Incentive Trips: Caribbean and Mexico Top Bookings
11. Summary and Key Takeaways
12. Survey Respondent Overview