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To keep your audience engaged, it’s crucial to understand what drives their satisfaction in 2025 and beyond. Flexibility, participant interaction, and novel experiences ensure your program remains relevant and impactful, and provides lasting value to attendees and your organization.  

Let’s dive into some incentive travel program tips to keep your travel experiences fresh, based on the latest research:

4. Provide participants with ample free time to explore and relax 

According to the 2024 Attendee Preferences for Incentive Travel report by the Incentive Research Foundation (IRF), relaxation time is highly preferred by 84.5% of respondents, who say this option is ‘extremely’ or ‘somewhat’ important. 

Free time offers participants flexibility to see even more of a destination that might not make it on the group itinerary, and allows time to independently immerse themselves in a destination’s culture.  

Our suggestion? Consider offering one activity per day instead of two, and don’t feel like you must pack every moment with something for a program to be meaningful! Free time is also a budget-friendly option in an environment where costs have outstripped budgets.  

70% of buyers are looking for something new and considering destinations they have not used before, according to the 2024 ITI. Here at NXL, we are seeing clients expand their search to include far-flung destinations, along with the tried and true.

The allure of discovering new places for participants adds an element of excitement to incentive programs and makes your experience stand out. We love helping our guests explore worldwide destinations that may be new to them, but have so much to offer! While the beach is always a fantastic choice, exploring other incredible destinations like Budapest, Switzerland, or Kyoto can offer unique and unforgettable experiences.

Expanding your search for the next destination also ensures your incentive travel programs stay fresh and fun.

2. Get ready for a younger audience 

41% of professionals agree that incentive travel design is lagging in an era of generational change, according to the 2024 ITI.

The Department of Labor reports that there are already more Millennial and Gen Z in the workforce than Gen X and Baby boomers combined. These next generations will change the composition of incentive programs, per the IRF, for everything from destination preferences to the way program participants like to communicate.

Expect some exciting changes in the coming years! Including more authentic local experiences, a variety of music, and adventurous excursions to cater to the new generations.

And let’s not forget the importance of knowing your audience! By incorporating these elements into your incentive travel programs, you’ll keep inspiring the next superstars of your organization.

1. Focus on engagement and building company culture 

Your incentive travel program allows participants to have fun, connect, and build important networks. Think about how you can create opportunities for everyone to interact with those they might not normally  engage with. Consider team-building activities that are fun but also encourage problem-solving together. Team-building exercises strengthen community and and offer a great opportunity to practice corporate social responsibility (CSR). We’ve seen first-hand how impactful this can be. 

We were honored to plan a client CSR event, that ultimately resulted in a donation of 37,500 canned goods to Hands for Hunger, a humanitarian organization in the Bahamas. This rewarding event was the largest single donation the nonprofit had ever received, impacting 1,000 families in Nassau, Eleuthera, and Andros. The experience even earned a 2023 SITE Crystal Award for its outstanding contribution to CSR, and our client’s participants found the experience an important reminder of their organization’s values. 

By embracing flexibility and generational preferences, considering new destinations, and focusing on engagement and company culture—you can create incentive travel programs that not only motivate and reward but also leave a lasting impact. We hope these incentive travel program tips help you when planning your next unforgettable journey!