Is Corporate Incentive Travel Part of Your Management Mix?

Corporate incentive travel is an opportunity to show appreciation

Should your company consider incentive travel to boost employee performance? According to statistics, a huge percentage of employees in the developed world work much below their full potential. For example, surveys conducted in the US indicate that more than 50% of American employees do little more than what they are asked to do. Slowly but surely, companies all over the world have begun to realize that employees are their most valuable asset. An inspired and motivated task force is essential for the success of any company. However, employees need more than their pay if they are to become high performers.

A well planned, attractive and rewarding employee recognition and reward program is the best way to boost employee performance.

Why incentive travel? Although there are many ways to recognize and reward excellence in employees, statistics suggest that corporate incentive travel can motivate employees in a manner that other awards cannot. In fact, travel used for recognition and reward purposes beats cash rewards too. Employees are willing to redefine professional goals to earn the goodies offered by a good corporate incentive travel program.

The perceived value of travel is greater than cash benefits because travelling to interesting places is an experience that is cherished for a long time. Besides, many people would never spend money on a fancy trip themselves. Additionally, most employees balk at disclosing details of a cash bonus, but there is no shame in flaunting photos of a trip to say London, Mexico, Canada or the Caribbean.

A great incentive travel scheme motivates employees to offer better service thus boosting sales results and improving bottom lines. Employers can generate more employee loyalty from their workforce. This is why incentive travel is so richly rewarding, both for the employee as well as the employer.

What to look for when choosing incentive travel destinations Choosing the right event, destination, resort and activities for reward travel is a science. Top incentive travel events are target specific and are designed to cater to the requirements of the entire group.

Destination is an equally important factor. Employees like to go to a place that is perceived as trendy and happening.

Emerging trends in incentive travel According to a survey of recent travel and meeting trends conducted by Global Events Partners, a DMC (Destination Management Companies) partnership, the United Kingdom has emerged as the top spot for incentive travel for many Fortune 1000 companies, followed by the US (Las Vegas, Phoenix and Orlando), Dubai, France and Italy. More than 70 countries worldwide were surveyed.

Some of the top reasons for the popularity of UK as a sought after destination for incentive travel include:

1. Britain boasts of a long and beautiful coastline


2. Coming to the UK presents no language problem for people in the US, Canada and Mexico - something which cannot be said of locations like France, Italy and Dubai


3. Britain is acquiring huge popularity as a foodie destination


4. The UK is an under-exploited tourist destination but is fully equipped to handle the demands of tourists of all sorts, which makes it a highly fashionable place to visit.

By partnering with the right travel activity producer, it is possible to offer employees travel events, group activities, recognition and training programs based on themes that are exciting as well as motivating. Therefore, it is absolutely vital to choose the right provider for your incentive and team building events.

Companies that invest wisely in corporate incentive travel have experienced improvement in performance, retention and client experience, all of which ensure higher customer loyalty and improved sales. These companies know that corporate incentive travel programs are much more than a vacation. These programs are designed to build and strengthen positive association. Attendees open up to each other facilitating the spread of good practices among employees. New levels of commitment are thereby established and engagement levels go up dramatically benefiting the employees as well as the employers in the short term and the long term.