SITE, the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence, and Maritz released headline findings from “Investigating the Power of Incentive Travel Across Generations,” a major SITE and Maritz collaboration. The study is the most current and comprehensive research into how Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z respond to incentive travel, reward and recognition.

The study shows that incentive travel continues to work powerfully across every generation. However, it also reveals that the profile of the people earning travel, the assumptions behind program design and the meaning of the reward are all shifting.

Travel Remains The Leading Non-Cash Motivator

When respondents were asked to rate nine reward types for motivational power, individual travel scored highest in the average rating for all generations, with 61% of all respondents describing it as “extremely motivating.” Group travel was second most popular at 50% and both forms of travel outperformed cash, gift cards, points, private and public recognition.

Responding to the headline results, Annette Gregg, CEO of SITE comments: “This research confirms that travel is not under threat from cash. If anything, it is the other way around — cash is under threat from travel. Incentive travel remains the dominant non-cash motivator across every generation.”

The Business Case

The data also demonstrates the business case for incentive travel is both measurable and strong. Among respondents who attended a trip in the past three years, 89% said they were more likely to stay in their job after winning, 89% felt stronger loyalty to the sponsoring company and 93% were eager to win again. More than half, 54%, described the meaning of a group travel experience as “a feeling of achievement,” showing that the intrinsic value of winning can be as important as the trip itself.

Sarah Kiefer, vice president of brand at Maritz says: “This data matters because it moves the conversation beyond opinions and gut assumptions. Incentive travel isn’t just a nice reward. It’s a real driver of retention, loyalty and future performance. These findings give program owners a strong business case which reinforces something we see all the time — the emotional side matters. When more than half of people say a group travel experience feels like an achievement, it’s clear the impact goes beyond the trip to create deeper connections within the organization.”

A Modern Workforce

The findings also demonstrate that the workforce motivated by incentive travel today is wider, younger, less remote and more operationally focused than the traditional industry stereotype. Based on 1,000 U.S. respondents, with 960 records forming the core analytical base, the research found that today’s incentive travel qualifier is broader than the industry assumes. Sixty percent of qualifiers in the study work in operations or technology, while fewer than 10% work in sales. 80% earn less than $150,000 a year, 60% hold a college degree, roughly three-quarters have been with their company for less than 10 years and fewer than 10% work remotely.

The study also challenges a recent, simplified, anecdotal narrative around Gen Z that says they are disengaged from incentive travel. In fact, 40% of Gen Z respondents had won four or more trips in the past three years, compared with 26% of Gen X and Boomer respondents. Group travel is, however, less universally appealing to Gen Z. Thirteen percent of Gen Z respondents said they dislike group travel or traveling with colleagues, compared with 6% of Gen Y and 7% of Gen X. Gen Z respondents were also less likely to agree that winning a trip made them feel valued or appreciated or more likely to stay in their job. The conclusion is clear: Gen Z is qualifying, Gen Z is travelling, but Gen Z needs programs designed differently.

Design for Success

In response, the study identifies five design imperatives for incentive travel organizers:

• Guest inclusion and flexibility are the strongest drivers of how valued, special and loyal a winner feels.
• Novelty also matters, with first-time destinations consistently outperforming repeat destinations.
• Recognition must be deliberately designed into the trip, particularly for Gen Z.
• Trips of five nights or more, beach, island or adventure themes, moderate group sizes of 11 to 50 and an all-inclusive plus activity format all perform strongly.
• Program eligibility should expand beyond traditional sales roles to reflect a workforce that is now operations-heavy, technology-heavy and multi-generational.

“The next generation of incentive travel will need to be more intentional, more flexible and more inclusive. Guest choice, first-time destinations, built-in recognition moments and experiences that reflect a broader workforce are not ‘nice to have’ design details. They are the factors that determine whether a trip feels personal, motivating and worth pursuing,” adds Kiefer. “The message from the research is clear: incentive travel works, but the best-performing programs will be those designed around current and future qualifiers, not who the industry designed for in the past.”

Gregg adds: “This research gives our industry a more sophisticated and more compelling story to tell. Incentive travel continues to outperform other non-cash rewards across every generation, but the data also shows that program design has to evolve. The workforce being motivated by travel today is broader, more operationally focused and more multi-generational than many traditional models assume. That creates a major opportunity for buyers, DMCs, agencies, destinations and incentive professionals to build programs that are more inclusive, more intentional and more effective. Most importantly, it gives the industry the evidence it needs to defend incentive travel in the C-suite, not as a discretionary reward, but as a strategic tool for motivation, loyalty and performance.”

The research was undertaken by SITE and Maritz as equal research partners, supported by Hilton and the SITE Foundation.

Jonathan Richards, president of the SITE Foundation concludes: “SITE Foundation is committed to funding research that advances the incentive travel industry and gives professionals the evidence they need to demonstrate value. This study moves the conversation beyond anecdotes, showing how incentive travel motivates a changing workforce and how programs can be designed to deliver stronger outcomes for participants, businesses and the wider industry.”

To download the report, visit siteglobal.com/research/maritz-site-research. |C&IT|