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SITE Foundation to launch long form geographical and sectoral reports on Incentive Travel during PlanetIMEX

May 8, 2020

On Tuesday, 12 May 2020, at the inaugural PlanetIMEX Community Day, SITE Foundation will launch 2 long-form studies commissioned from data compiled from the Incentive Travel Industry Index (ITII), its joint annual research project with partners, Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) and Financial & Insurance Conference Professionals (FICP).

Key Points / Findings – Europe Report:

517 responses – 44% buyers, 56% supplier
Focus on 2 key source markets – Great Britain and Germany
When compared to North America, European incentive travel programmes are less luxurious, more focused on soft power and more likely to include a meeting component
Europeans value uniqueness and authenticity of destination over the quality of hotel or resort
No such thing as a typical European programme – source markets are not aligned when it comes to overall programme design

Key Points / Findings – DMC Report:

537 responses – 29% North America, 30% Europe, 23% Asia
DMCs are not one-global-size-fits-all with different business models in different regions particularly in relation to business referrals
DMCs manage between 40% and 60% of the total destination budget but this is lower amongst North American DMCs
DMCs receive 60% of their business on average from agencies and 40% direct for corporate or association clients
DMCs believe that their percentage share of overall budget will fall by 9% over the next 5 years

“The depth and range of the data were such that we were able to commission individual geographical studies for Europe and Asia and a stand-alone study for the DMC sector to complement the global ITII report previously released at IMEX America 2019. While the Covid-19 crisis has significantly altered the incentive travel landscape in 2020, we felt the underlying regional and sectoral stories were sufficiently compelling and robust to merit release at this time. I encourage all incentive travel professionals but particularly those living and working in Europe and those in the DMC sector to download these comprehensive studies from the SITEGlobal website”, said Carina Bauer, CEO, The IMEX Group & President, 2020, SITE Foundation.

Tina Weede, CITP, CRP, President & CEO, Peerless Performance and Vice President – Research and Content, SITE Foundation added: “I’m proud to announce the launch of these studies and especially delighted with the strong team of incentive professionals that have been lined up to help us do so. The DMC Report will be launched as a Podcast with Erica Sep, Head of Sales for Asia, Pacific World, Huw Tuckett, CEO, Euromic and Jennifer Patino, CEO, Hosts Global joining Podcast supremo, Wayne Wallgren of SITE Texas, for a conversation on the nature, purpose and direction of the DMC sector. The Europe Report, meanwhile, will be a live webinar moderated by SITE Foundation trustee, Hamish Reid of Hills Balfour with industry veteran, Miek Egberts of InspireMe, Monaco & France and Holly Mills, Head of Incentives at Penguins.”