How incentive travel programs drive sales performance & business growth

In a fast-paced, target-driven sales environment, performance is everything, and motivation is the fuel that keeps teams pushing forward. While commissions and bonuses play their part, today’s high-performing sales teams are looking for more than just a salary.

They’re driven by recognition, experience, and the opportunity to be part of something memorable. That’s where incentive travel programs come in – offering not just rewards, but powerful motivation tools that inspire action, strengthen loyalty, and ultimately drive measurable business growth.

A study conducted by Aberdeen Research showed that 100% of best-in-class companies (those with the highest customer retention and sales growth) who offer group travel incentives to motivate sales teams experience three times higher revenue.

Incentive travel programs help drive positive outcomes by giving organisations a competitive advantage, motivating increased sales and keeping a focus on short-term goals – showing appreciation for performance and delivering memorable experiences to employees along the way. It provides employees with an emotive connection to the business and brand by creating unique, shared and memorable experiences. The opportunity to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime experience with like-minded people is an enormous motivator for sales teams to hit their targets and a fitting reward for hard work.

Benefits of incentive travel for organisations

Implementing a motivational incentive travel program is a strategic investment in employees; one that drives business growth and delivers measurable ROI. These program foster collaboration and alignment with business objectives, while also serving as powerful tools to recognise and reward performance.

Earlier research from the Incentive Research Foundation highlighted the tangible impact of reward programs, showing an average 22% improvement in performance compared to organisations without such programs. For incentive travel programs active for more than six months, performance gains increased to 44% for individual-based rewards and 48% for team-based rewards. Additionally, companies with effective incentive travel programs experienced 31% lower voluntary turnover. While this data reflects earlier findings, it continues to illustrate the long-standing value incentive travel brings to business outcomes.

Beyond performance metrics, incentive travel contributes to positive workplace culture. It creates opportunities for top sales performers and leaders to connect, share insights, and celebrate achievements, reinforcing the behaviours and results organisations want to see more of.

Cash versus travel incentives

Travel is a powerful tool for motivation because it touches employees’ emotions through experience. Cash incentives don’t provide the level of social capital or the aspirational goals that travel rewards do. Money is something people generally don’t discuss, but a great memorable travel experience will be spoken about for years to come.

The announcement of the travel incentive program provides those eligible with something to look forward to. Some may have a ‘fear of missing out’ driving friendly competition to ensure their place on the program is secured. The reward program can be used as a regular and recurring internal communication piece, with successful employees and the trip destination creating a focal point in the lead-up, during, and post-event. Travel provides a broad range of content material (images, videos, social and blogs) to share internally and externally to promote your business’s investment in its people and culture.

Incentive travel program management

Managing a successful incentive travel program can be a large task. There are many things to consider such as:

• What is your objective and outcome for the program?
• Are the goals measurable?
• How will you launch, communicate and drive engagement?
• What is your budget?
• Will your destination of choice (or content) drive motivation, engagement, and results?
• How will you manage the logistics: pre/post extensions, group movements, and last-minute changes?
• What memorable, meaningful, and inclusive activities will you include?
• Is it a unique, creative, and fun money-can’t-buy experience or something aligned with your corporate values or sustainability objectives?

Enlisting the expertise of meetings and events specialists can ensure your incentive travel program delivers a return on investment for your business and an exceptional experience for your employees. Working with a professional and specialised team means you can focus on your core business and leave the planning and execution to the experts.

Meetings and events specialists can deliver:

• personalised guest experiences
• streamlined online registration
• a complete travel and event management service; air, hotel, ground transport, activities, and entertainment
• theming and creative ideas and solutions
• communicationsr
• return on investment (ROI) reporting
• destination management and onsite logistics, including on-site staff
• technology solutions – registration, booking, reporting, event apps, and onsite support.

By enlisting the expertise of CTM Meetings & Events (CTM M&E), you will get time back in your day and have confidence that your high-performance sales employees will have a trip of a lifetime, inspiring and motivating them to continue to deliver positive results for your organisation.