Incentive travel trends for 2019

The world has grown smaller. There’s almost no destination off limits and Instagram is filled with shots of exotic corners of the globe. When it comes to motivating your sales teams and channel partners, your usual reward trip to a beautiful beach might not be the best choice. So what exactly is motivating to them? Keep reading – we’ve got you covered.

1. “Party of two” versus party.
   When given a choice between an individual or group travel reward, 90% of salespeople are more motivated by individual travel.¹ If having the team together is beneficial and a crucial part of your culture, consider starting with a short group travel event and then offer options for nearby fly-away experiences for individuals and their guests.
2. Edu-travel combines experiences and growth.
   Offer a travel reward with an educational twist. Tie learning to professional development while exploring a new area. For example, a hike down the Grand Canyon might include a discussion about the almost 40 rock layers forming the Grand Canyon walls which could relate to continuing to build and reinvent oneself. Participants will come home with new memories and new inspiration.
3. Choose or lose.
   When salespeople achieve their goals and earn a travel reward, they want control over the destination (93%), timeframe (88%), activity (87%) and duration of the trip (87%).¹ The ability to choose makes the experience more personal and far more memorable. Where you can, offer options for activities that might appeal to different personalities and interests such as a bike tour through Dublin, Ireland or a genealogy appointment with an expert.
4. Ditch the agenda.
   BI WORLDWIDE’s study shows that “unplugging” is the most popular activity for salespeople over any other choice — by 4x, in fact. Providing opportunities for pure relaxation, like yoga, spa or beach time, may be the rejuvenation they need to hit the ground running when they start working toward next year’s goal.
5. Set-jetting.
   With mega hits like The Crown, Game of Thrones and the Harry Potter series, you can plan a reward experience that takes pop culture off the screen and into reality. When considering a destination, think of how to tie in a side trip that will be exciting for even those who might not be avid fans of the show. Whether they like the Lord of the Rings trilogy or have no interest in middle earth, a trip to see the magic of Hobbiton will excite everyone.

Even something as enticing as incentive travel can become stale. Create your next program with one or more of these trends in mind and watch your number of achievers – and their performance – start to grow.

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[1]  2018 study by BI WORLDWIDE with 500 salespeople between the ages of 21-65 years old who work in one of five industry sectors: automotive/transportation, life sciences/medical/pharma, technology, telecommunications and retail.