Incentives
The new incentive
Australian incentive groups are travelling further to destinations like Rio de Janeiro
Brittney Levinson sits down with the experts to find out what’s trending in incentives, from emerging destinations to sustainable practices.
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orporate incentive programs have continually evolved in recent years, steering away from what may once have been labelled a ‘junket’ to offer a more educational and memorable experience for delegates, albeit still with the ultimate goal to reward employees. CWT Meetings & Events, a division of global travel management company Carlson Wagonlit Travel, has a front-row seat in the incentives market, delivering thousands of global programs every year and gaining first-hand insight into what’s trending in the space. Here, senior vice president and global managing director Derek Sharp, director of Australia and New Zealand Michelle Sargent and senior director of Asia Pacific Sam Lay share the latest on incentive trends and reveal their predictions of what’s to come in 2020.
Travelling further afield While easy-to-reach destinations such as Fiji, Indonesia and Thailand remain popular among Australian incentive programs, many groups are now looking beyond Asia Pacific for the chance to experience something new. “People are now willing to look a little bit further afield to get something that is considered a bit exotic,” says Sargent. “We have had some amazing events over the past 18 months where we've gone as far as South America, [such as] Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires. We have also done Egypt in the past year, as well as Lisbon and Marrakech.” Given the distance Australian groups are required to travel for these destination, the programs are also becoming longer in duration and include more free time for delegates. www.spicenews.com.au 29