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 Revving
Them Up
Incentive planners see renewed interest in motivational programs
By Maria Lenhart
Although tough economic times are when motivation is most needed, many companies scaled back on incentive programs during the depth of the recession. Now, however, incentive planners say companies are more willing to invest in programs geared to boost the bottom line and stay ahead of the competition.
In a recent SITE Foundation survey of incentive professionals, 62 percent of the respondents said they expected to see an increase in the use of motivational travel over the next six to 12 months, while 84 percent predicted improvement over the next one to three years.
 To get some additional perspective, Meetings Focus spoke with several leading incentive experts on what they are experiencing in the current marketplace.
Are you seeing an uptick in incentive business for the year ahead?
Gary Cornwell, COO, Galactic Marketing Incentives, Arlington, Texas: We have seen our group size start to increase again, although we're still doing the same amount of trips. Our participant counts—and money spent per trip—slipped during the bad economy. It's now starting to go back up. People are heading back in the right direction. They know that incentives are their way of trumping the competition. Everyone wants to be the first to rev people up.
Adam Lawhorne, president, Meeting Incentive Experts, Chicago: I've been a SITE member for 13 years and have seen a lot of cycles in the industry. People are deciding to do incentives again, sometimes at the last minute. Fortune 500 companies are not ... Read More...
Incentives on the Rise
The outlook for incentive business is growing brighter overall, according to results from the latest annual Pulse Survey, Incentive Industry Trends 2011, conducted by the Incentive Research Foundation. The data was drawn from responses from 130 industry professionals last fall.
Among the findings:
44 percent said that incentive travel budgets are increasing in 2011
... Read More...
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