This story is part of a special section from The Meeting Professional, brought to you by
Recovery will happen, but what will it look like? That question can be posed to just about any industry right now, as most of the world still struggles under the weight of COVID-19. The incentive travel industry is certainly no exception.
What we can expect, based on the 2020 Incentive Travel Industry Index (ITII), is that the recovery of incentive travel will be focused largely on the intrinsic joy of travel experiences, travel with no strings attached (company promotions, meetings, etc.) and travel with a conscience (CSR has moved up in the rankings).
An Annual Survey in a Most Unusual Year
In 2020, the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) partnered with Financial & Insurance Conference Professionals (FICP) and the Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) to produce the ITII.
The annual report, produced with research partner Oxford Economics, provides all stakeholders with empirical data on the current state of incentive travel and looks ahead to its future.
Of course, 2020 was a year unlike any other for all of us, including purveyors of incentive travel, an industry that was especially hard hit since most global travel has come to a halt. Considering the state of incentive travel (or largely the lack thereof) in 2020, why continue to produce the report?
“All areas of inquiry in the survey instrument have been adapted, rewritten or added to, taking COVID-19 into account so that three distinct time references are measured: before, during or after the pandemic,” says Pádraic Gilligan, SITE’s chief marketing officer. “For this reason, ITII is a key part of our industry’s roadmap to recovery. It’s our collective way of providing the incentive travel industry with data for the decisions that’ll impact and shape incentive travel in a post-pandemic world.”
Reduced Budgets and Silver Linings
COVID-19 has been devastating for the global incentive travel industry, with business activities down by as much as 80 percent in 2020. However, when asked to describe the impact, most survey respondents highlighted temporary measures focused largely on cost cutting (“reduced budgets,” “reduced company hours, salaries/benefits”). Only a tiny minority reported the closure or shuttering of their businesses.
But every cloud has a silver lining for incentive travel professionals, and the fallout from the pandemic in 2020 also brought positive benefits. Companies in many regions were able to draw down government supports, take the opportunity to explore alternative revenue streams and spend more time on learning and development and on achieving better work/life balance.
More Luxury and Cultural Experiences
When asked about program design and inclusions, respondents highlighted new priorities reflecting the corporate “reset” that the pandemic has caused. “Bucket list” or luxury experiences have now taken the top ranking in future program design, immediately followed by “cultural experiences.” Clearly the focus for the future is pure travel, the intrinsic joy of discovery with no strings attached.
Also high on the priority list of inclusions for post-pandemic incentive travel experiences is corporate social responsibility (CSR). CSR-related activities have been on the radar for planners of incentive travel experiences for many years but never have they been ranked as high as in the 2020 edition. The pandemic appears to have strengthened our resolve to be responsible travelers, to leave a positive legacy in the destinations that we travel to and to travel with a conscience.
A Roadmap for Recovery
ITII also asked respondents to gaze into their crystal balls and predict when recovery might come. When compared with 2019 levels, business activity is predicted to be off by 40 percent in 2021 and by 12 percent in 2022 before exceeding 2019 levels by 10 percent in 2023. That said, not all regions or countries within regions share the same viewpoint. For European and Canadian incentive travel professionals, recovery doesn’t come until 2024, with 2023 still below 2019 levels. U.S. incentive travel professionals, conversely, almost reach 2019 levels in 2022.
It should be stated at this point that the survey was conducted mainly in the months of September and October, prior to the surge in COVID-19 numbers in the U.S. and prior to the announcement of positive news regarding a vaccine.
ITII offers rich pickings for incentive travel professionals seeking a roadmap for recovery. The regional details may vary, but there is no ambiguity around the fact that all respondents believe that incentive travel will be back, stronger than ever.
