IT Index Study: Small Growth Seen; Group Cultural, Dining Experiences Top Popularity
This annual survey of over 2,700 incentive travel professionals provides the most comprehensive worldwide update on incentive travel trends. Survey Highlights
What’s Missing — Individual Incentives and Emerging Tech
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The latest Incentive Travel Index 2025, released this week, finds that incentive travel remains strategic and resilient. Spending is edging up, classic qualification formats hold, buyers are exploring new, well-connected, safe destinations, and long-haul is still in play. The next level of innovation is measurement and integration—tightening links to senior leadership goals with explicit KPIs—while navigating costs, geopolitics, visas, and a steadily rising sustainability bar.
The study is conducted by Oxford Economics and funded by the Incentive Research Foundation and the SITE Foundation. It is based on a global online survey of 2,708 industry sellers (57%), buyers (43%) in 19 industries across 85 countries.
Survey Highlights
Here’s a summary of key trends reported in the study.
Growth. Stable to small growth, with the Asia Pacific region, pharmaceutical and heath care, and direct sales industries most bullish.
Costs. Per-person spend is expected to rise 4%: global average is $5,100 (2024: $4,900). North America $6,000; APAC $4,300; Western Europe, $3,200. Biggest budget drivers are hotels, air, food and beverage.
Event formats. Group cultural sightseeing (60%), group dining (58%), relationship-building and free time (53% each); awards (48%) and bucket-list elements (44%) remain the preferred program elements.
Destination strategy. The survey says 69% are seeking new destinations; 63% already booked new destinations for 2026–27. Must-haves: Direct air access (41%), top-tier accommodations (34%), strong DMC (destination management company) (29%). Deal-breakers are: Personal safety (47%), difficult air (40%), geopolitics (38%), infrastructure (27%). Distance viability: 63% report no long-haul limits; only 13% see distance as a disqualifier. Cruises and South America destinations are trend upward.
Risks. Rising costs (38%) and international instability (up to 30%, from 18% in 2024). US appeal is softening: 70% foresee a decline in inbound incentives to the US (politics); 65% cite visa complexity; 46% see DEI/LGBTQ shifts lowering appeal.
Lack of sufficient impact measurement and alignment with senior management. 75% say incentive travel’s value is “as strong as ever;” yet integration is uneven—only 24% of end-users are fully integrated with HR/people strategy; 35% are not at all integrated.
What’s Missing — Individual Incentives and Emerging Tech 
Here are a few other industry trends not addressed by the study.
1. Rise of Individual Choice, Experiences, and Hybrid Incentives
While the report spotlights traditional group travel, it provided no insights into other industry data showing growing interest in individualized and choice-based awards. Planners are combining high-touch group events with flexible redemption models — curated or off-the-beaten track experiences; “travel-anywhere” gift portals, tiered hybrid programs or bleisure travel tied to corporate events.
2. Experience Platforms and Data Integration
- Enterprise Engagement apps integrate communications, registration, collaboration, and more.
- Mobile event apps deliver real-time itineraries, and gamification and feedback loops such as the new Skavengerz app.
Impact measurement is the next frontier. Future-ready planners are using:
- Correlation of results with process metrics for causation analysis.
- Engagement and retention metrics pre/post program over time.
- Qualification analytics (who earned vs. who didn’t, by region/segment.
- NPS (net-promoter-scores) or satisfaction scores tied to leadership visibility and internal communications impact.
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