Meetings and incentive travel professionals agree that Brexit will impact their industry, but they differ on what sort of impact it will have. Of course, a good part of that stems from the up-in-the-air status of Brexit itself.
The British-based C&IT Magazine recently summarized five incentive travel trends that will impact programs in 2019.
1 • Brexit
Unsurprisingly the most common prediction for what will impact the incentive travel industry in the coming year was Brexit. Lidia Sakarapani, head of sales and marketing at Principal. Global Events, predicts “the number of UK companies that would traditionally be going overseas for incentives will reduce somewhat and instead stay in the UK. This change is being affected by the uncertainty that is still Brexit and what that means for businesses both here in the UK and abroad.”
Others told C&IT the separation from Europe is already causing UK incentive planners to look at more long-haul destinations. “We are seeing a transition away from European venues as the pound weakens against the Euro; this means we are now considering and using more locations further afield than we have previously,” says Richard Shacklock, events operations manager at Capita Travel & Events. “Continued Brexit uncertainty is fueling a lack of UK investment and also making European incentives more costly, so, in the short-term, I imagine the trends from 2018 to continue.”
2 • Instagram
In an article for C&IT, Jo Kelly, events operation director for CR Worldwide, writes, “Two factors — experience and Instagram — mean the idea of what makes a trip effective is changing. Together, they are becoming intrinsic to incentive travel’s success. We are moving from incentive travel to ‘Instatravel.’ And it’s now important to think about photographic opportunities when providing destination solutions, to give attendees the best experience and create the best results.
Kelly continues, “Incentive travel is no longer just an exciting trip abroad. It is a trip filled with incredible experiences, which attendees can capture on their camera phone and share. Putting together trips with Instagram opportunities cleverly builds on the business benefits that incentive travel has to offer. Guests can post photos that strengthen their company loyalty, for instance, and share images that inspire their colleagues.”
3 • Sustainability
Elliott Grant, director of incentives at Top Banana Incentives, told C&IT, “The incentive travel industry needs to take a step back and really think about how we can create a long-term sustainability strategy that will have a positive impact on agencies, customers and the destinations we are visiting. Sustainability reaches so much further than the simple CSR activities we are currently practicing. We need to start thinking about legal compliances, fair trade, culture and environmental impact.”
Grant says businesses and charities are beginning to invest money in large sustainability and CSR campaigns that are reaching a wider audience. One example from 2018 is the campaign against plastic straws, which went global and received engagement from a significant number of businesses. “In 2019, we need to start listening to what’s actually impacting our world and incorporate these into our incentive programs,” Grant says.
4 • Personalization
As with other trends identified in C&IT’s most recent State of the Industry report (i.e., the rise of social media and sustainability), an increased focus on personalizing travel experiences is due, in large part, to the large presence of millennials and Generation Z workers.
“In 2019, we will continue to see the impact of millennials,” says Grant. “Younger generations are seeking memorable experiences, embracing exploration, authenticity and personalized experiences — seeing a move away from the tour-feel incentives that once were.”
“Allowing attendees to make the experience more personal is far more memorable,” says Nenah Favelle, head of events at BI Worldwide EMEA. For her, personalization includes the ability to choose the destination, timeframe, activity and duration of the trip.
5 • Wellness
More than one-third of respondents to the C&IT State of the Industry survey indicated that wellness is an element of their incentive programs, offering a number of reasons why wellness incentives are on the rise.
Zoe Thatcher, project executive at Your Event Solutions, believes the demand is increasing because of channels such as Instagram. “Social influencers are pushing ‘internal reset’-style trips where you have a diet program and are in a beautiful place.”
Favelle expects wellness programs will be one of 2019’s biggest incentive travel trends. “We see an increasing shift toward experiences that focus on wellness, learning and self-discovery. More groups of all sizes are interested in well-being, and this includes healthy foods.”
This may be partly due to attendees themselves (particularly the younger generations) being influenced on social media, but Helena Vella, head of incentive travel at SevenEvents, believes it’s also being driven by the companies themselves. “We are seeing a real trend in wellness and retreat requests because clients seem to be understanding the importance of ensuring their staff switch off from time to time.”
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