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To see the full results of the survey, visit incentiveindex.com
“Once again, the Incentive Industry Travel Index has yielded enlightening results — some expected and others quite surprising. The resilience of ‘incentives as a tool for motivation’ in the NORAM market shows how entrenched incentive tools have become for employers. However the lack of sufficient agility and adaptation of European Markets has been evident to us as a DMC, and the survey showcases the same outcome.”
— Eda Özden, Managing Director, MEP DMC
Now in its third year, the annual ITII (Incentive Travel Industry Index) is fast becoming an indispensable report on the state of incentive travel. This year’s findings examine how buyers in different markets — European and North American — have responded to the pandemic, and what it means for the future of incentive travel.
Demographics
In total, the survey captured 249 buyers from European countries and 537 buyers from North America. A higher proportion of end-users (30%) came from North America versus Europe (20%), reflecting North America’s status as one of the world’s most prominent incentive markets. In Europe, the top 5 countries represented were Italy, the UK, Germany, Poland, and Spain — with Poland’s inclusion marking the growth of emerging European incentive markets.
Industries Represented
Finance and Insurance came out on top as the most important industry, with over 30% of North American companies and 23% of European buyers. The ICT sector was the 2nd most popular industry in North America, but doesn’t feature in the top 5 for Europe — reflecting the US’s global leadership in technology.
Reaction to COVID
Very few companies in either market closed, restructured, or sold their business (3% respectively). However, a large number did lay off or furlough staff (42% EUR vs 56% NA). While North America let more staff go, 49% of European buyers utilised government support to retain staff — compared to only 35% in North America, likely reflecting more favourable government schemes in Europe.
Overall, North American buyers showed a more proactive approach — exploring new revenue streams (47% vs 26%), focusing on learning and development (48% vs 36%), and altering incentive programmes to ensure leading employees were still rewarded (60% vs 37%).
Business Outlook
The proactive approach of North American buyers carries through to their business outlook. Both markets understand the importance of training, development, and virtual event capabilities — but North American buyers show a stronger reliance and urgency (71% NA vs 55% EUR). Similarly, while European buyers understand the need to examine risk management and contracting, North American buyers are ahead here too, with 19% more respondents emphasising these areas.
Interestingly, the only area in which European buyers were more proactive than North American buyers was in focusing on sustainable travel.
