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Individual Travel Tops List of Participant Preferences in IRF Survey

The latest 2022 Incentive Research Foundation Destination Preference Study surveying 405 US salespeople correlated with Cvent and 3D Cruise Partners booking data finds that incentive travel is in higher demand than ever and that organizations appear to be generally selecting destinations in line
with participa
nt desires. Individual travel is almost universally coveted.

Ninety-six percent of survey respondents rate individual incentive travel as extremely or very motivating, up from 84% last year, according to this recently published 2022 Incentive Research Foundation Travel Study, compared with 91% who find group travel to be extremely or very motivating, up from 81%.
 
The 2022 Incentive Research Foundation Travel Study, conducted in March and April of 2022, and building on the 2021 Destination Preferences Study conducted in June 2021, surveyed 405 full-time US salespeople who have been eligible for an incentive trip at some point within the past three years. The survey asked about several areas including perceived motivational appeal of incentive travel awards, fairness of the award process, destination preferences, and the aspects of an incentive trip they prioritized as being most important or motivating.
  
Perhaps the most surprising findings are respondent preferences for outdoors and cultural experiences while on the incentive trip. Ranked in order of preference, they are: beach, adventure travel, mountains, wellness spa, cultural importance, and cruises.

Here are other key findings.Crested Butte photo by Gary Stoller  

The most popular destinations are Hawaii, the Caribbean, Western US, and Western Europe.
  • Perhaps because of easing concerns about the pandemic, cruising, which ranked last as a preferred experience in 2021, rose significantly in rankings in 2022 as did visiting larger metropolitan areas.
  • The most valued characteristics of incentive trips are having ample free time, being able to take along a significant others, enjoying luxury accommodations and experiences, and receiving spending money to cover out-of-pocket expenses.
  • The survey found a marked increase in the desire for public recognition for accomplishments in group events.
  • Four- to six days is the favored length of incentive trips.
  • In all cases of the 20 top-booked destinations, the most frequently booked regions also rank either in the 1st or 2nd tier of participant preferences. All the top 20 booked destinations were either US, Caribbean, or Central America locations, with Hawaii bookings getting hit by cost and distance issues.
  • There is a “dramatic increase in cruising, mingling with large groups of people and taking an incentive trip that involves aflight”—almost back to pre-pandemic levels.
  • 50% rate receiving a merchandise gift as high or somewhat high on the list of preferences, up from 45% of respondents from the previous years’ study.


Crested Butte Photo by Gary Stoller. 

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Education, Certifications, and Information to Activate
Brand Media and Enterprise Engagement 


A complete learning, certification, and information program and a course syllabus for educators.
 
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