HOTELMARKETING.COM

Studies show merging of meetings and incentives

December 15, 2011 | Hotel Marketing

The line between incentive travel and meetings is blurring. A soft economy and tax implications have encouraged many planners to continuously create spaces for business content within incentive travel programs.

The line between incentive travel and meetings is blurring, according to preliminary findings from joint research conducted by Corporate Meetings & Incentives and the Incentive Research Foundation. When asked what percentage of each day was spent at meetings during their incentive trip, almost half (49.6 percent) of survey respondents said more than 20 percent of each day, while 46.7 percent said less than 20 percent.

"It seems a soft economy and tax implications have encouraged many planners to continuously create spaces for business content within incentive travel programs, said Melissa Van Dyke, president, Incentive Research Foundation. “Over a quarter of planners now have more than 40 percent of their event dedicated to business meetings."

This practice of including meetings is far from new for insurance companies because of tax requirements, said Angie Pfiefer, CMM, assistant vice president corporate meetings, travel and incentives at Investors Group Financial Services, Winnipeg, Canada, who has been doing so for more than 10 years. “But also, when you bring your top people together, it would be a missed opportunity not to communicate with them, reinforce some key messages, and get them motivated and engaged.”

Get the full story at Corporate Meetings & Incentives

Visit our sponsors: