Incentive travel activity is expected to remain broadly stable in 2027, despite geopolitical uncertainty and growing challenges around air capacity, according to the 2026 Incentive Travel Index (ITI).
Launched by the Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) and the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) at IMEX America on 13 October, the research draws on responses from 2,100 incentive travel professionals and was produced with research partner Oxford Economics.
More than 60 per cent of respondents said geopolitical instability was already disrupting the destinations they use. Meanwhile, average spend per person increased by almost 8 per cent year-on-year, with 62 per cent forecasting that incentive travel activity in 2027 would be about the same as in 2026. Almost 26 per cent expected an increase.
Access to flights has become a more prominent concern for US buyers. Forty per cent cited securing airlift and airline capacity as a near-term challenge, up from 12 per cent in the previous year's Index.
Destination choices are also increasingly influenced by safety and accessibility. Personal safety was the most commonly cited reason for ruling out a destination among US buyers, at 53 per cent, followed by difficult air access (42 per cent) and geopolitical factors (31 per cent).
The research also found that 64 per cent of respondents across the full survey sample agreed that recent political events would lead to a decline in inbound incentive travel to the United States.
Technology is playing a growing role in programme planning. Eighty per cent of US buyers said they were using or planning to use artificial intelligence for destination research and planning, up from 58 per cent in 2025.
The Index also examines budget decisions, destination appeal, cross-border logistics and the role of incentive travel in wider employee experience strategies.
Stephanie Harris, president of the IRF, said: “The 2026 Index underscores that incentive travel programme owners must make strategic choices at every stage of the programme cycle. Those that use better data, work closely across partnerships, and keep the attendee at the center of decisions will be best positioned to demonstrate the value of incentive travel.”
Padraic Gilligan, head of consultancy and research at SITE, said: “The value of incentive travel depends on delivering an experience people want to earn and can reach with confidence. This year’s Index gives our industry evidence to have more informed conversations with clients and destination partners about the choices behind a successful programme.”
The full Incentive Travel Index 2026 is available at incentiveindex.com.
