smaller programs as we just do incentive travel,
but our group sizes are growing. Our largest
program this year was for 490 people. We de-
cided on a business strategy to go after small- to
medium businesses that were starting to do
incentive travel and it seems to have paid off, so
these groups are now increasing to about 80 to
150 people in size."
Stephanie McVeigh, CEO and founder of
Strategic Incentive Solutions Inc., based in Alvin-
ston, Ont., says "We have seen a rise in budgets
and per person investment, the majority of the
programs we run are for incentive travel and for
most it is in their DNA, they recognize the value
and importance incentive travel has in boosting
the bottom line and creating loyalty and engage-
ment amongst their clients and employees." →
S
ITE Foundation president,
Rhea Stagner and Padraic Gilli-
gan, vice-president, research and
content, revealed some of the
findings from SITE Index 2018 at
the Smart Monday session during
IMEX America in October. "Optimism is high
despite world events," says Stagner. "Globally,
the world and incentive travellers are becoming
more resilient. Although safety is a concern, both
buyers and sellers are reporting that it's not a
deterrent to a strong incentive travel market."
John Crowe, CIS and president of Metracon
Travel Inc., based in Toronto, says "We're on a
good track for next year. We have a busy spring
lined up and we're still waiting for some pro-
grams to be firmed up for the fall. We tend to do
by Sandra Eagle
incentive
travel
report
"...they recognize the
value and importance
incentive travel has in
boosting the bottom line
and creating loyalty and
engagement..."
