Now is not the time to abandon ship on your incentive travel contest strategy.
In today’s volatile business climate—marked by leadership shake-ups, economic shifts, and tightening purse strings—it’s instinctive to want to slash what’s thought of as your discretionary spend first. But before you think about striking travel incentives from your budget, ask yourself:
What’s the true cost of cutting my most proven tool that drives revenue and loyalty?
Because while canceling an incentive trip may seem like an easy way to trim expenses, the long-term impact can quietly erode everything you’ve worked hard to build.
Incentive travel isn’t a perk. It’s a performance strategy. And it’s impact lasts long after the plane lands.
It recognizes your top performers, motivates the middle, and sends a powerful message about what success looks like. These programs reinforce culture, build community, and give both internal teams and key external stakeholders—like customers and channel partners—something tangible to strive for and feel part of, especially when things get tough.
And when the markets and budgets rebound (as they always do), you’ll need your people fired up and focused—not disconnected and disengaged.
That’s why, instead of pulling back, smart companies are doubling down. They know that incentive travel helps them stay steady during turbulent times.
Here’s what we know about why you shouldn’t cut incentive trips—and why you should be investing more than ever when times are tough.
Incentive Travel Isn’t a Luxury—
It’s a Lifeline
When the going gets tough, teams look for reasons to dig in, not check out. That’s exactly what incentive travel rewards deliver:
- Engagement That Endures
Your winners—whether employees, customers, or key stakeholders—return energized, connected to peers, and aligned with your strategic goals—which is more essential than ever in rapidly changing workplaces. - Performance You Can Measure
Organizations running travel-based contests consistently report double-digit lifts in sales volume and year-over-year growth (Incentive Research Foundation). As you may have seen in our client case study, when one client’s industry faced a slowdown, they turned to a well-timed incentive travel program to reignite motivation – and saw measurable sales growth as a result. - Culture That’s Bulletproof
Shared experiences deepen loyalty. Even if headcount or promotions are frozen, an unforgettable trip says, “We believe in you.”
Cutting Incentives Is the Worst Cost-Cutting Move You Can Make
Maybe you’re considering cutting the trip entirely—or looking for ways to trim costs. It feels safe on the spreadsheet—“$0 travel spend = immediate savings.” But the hidden costs stack up faster when you factor in:
- Cash Can’t Compete: Thinking of canceling the trip and offering a smaller cash reward instead? Think again. Cash is quickly spent and easily forgotten. A travel experience creates lasting memories, emotional connection, and brand loyalty. By swapping an unforgettable trip for a forgettable payout, you lose the opportunity to truly motivate, recognize, and retain your top people.
- Missed Market Share: While competitors double down on meaningful experiences to attract and retain top performers and customers, you risk losing your rising stars and most valued relationships to organizations that are actively investing in recognition and loyalty.
- DIY Pitfalls: When trips are planned in-house by teams who aren’t event experts, important details get missed, logistics get messy, and the experience often falls flat. What was meant to inspire can quickly turn into a source of stress—for both planners and participants. Low-budget, in-house trips often lead to logistical chaos, last-minute cancellations, and participant frustration.
The Data Behind the Dollars
According to the Incentive Research Foundation’s (IRF) 2025 Trends Report, 81% of organizations rely on travel incentives to retain their best talent—and the strategic ones do not back off, even as budgets get tighter. In fact, companies using non-cash rewards, including incentive travel, have 3X higher revenue increases (IRF).
“Incentive, reward, and recognition programs are a strategic driver of company culture and employee loyalty—even when budgets are tight.”
– IRF 2025 Trends Report
The best part about incentive travel? Properly designed incentive travel programs increase sales productivity by 18% and produce an ROI of 112% (IRF).
Imagine writing a check for $500,000 toward a world-class incentive trip—and watching it return over $1 million in increased performance and retention. That’s not just rewarding your team – that’s fueling your P&L.
Incentive travel isn’t a soft perk. It’s a revenue lever. The data proves it.
Make Your Move Now—While Others Hesitate
Even when markets shift, the enduring impact of a thoughtfully designed incentive program remains. Organizations prioritizing employee engagement and cultural investment consistently secure double-digit gains compared to peers, no matter what challenges arise.
- Lean Into Strategy
Partner with experts like Achieve Incentives & Meetings who know how to design programs that tie directly to your KPIs—so every dollar, every trip, and every moment on the ground fuels measurable ROI. - Maximize Your Budget
Keep momentum high while keeping costs low. By working with Achieve Incentives, you can stretch your dollar by accessing our 70+ years of vendor partnerships, unlocking hidden savings, and leveraging tax benefits in certain destinations. - Build for the Long Game
Design a portfolio of rewards that really works—quarterly retreats, global incentive trips, spot recognitions—and weathers every season, from boom to bust.
Your Competitive Edge?
Relentless Recognition
As the IRF sums it up:
“Incentive programs will see shifts in response to evolving priorities, but what remains consistent is their effectiveness as a competitive advantage.”
While your competitors pull back and play it safe, this is your opportunity to invest strategically and push ahead.
Incentive travel isn’t a cost—it’s a catalyst that lights a fire under your team, solidifies loyalty, and delivers the sales lift you need to thrive, no matter what the markets throw at you.
Let’s turn uncertainty into your next big win. Ready to chart your course? Explore our Incentive Travel Contest Playbook and reach out to us to start building outcomes that outlast headlines.
