IRF and SITE address how geopolitical risk, AI and the qualifier voice are impacting incentive travel.
When it comes to meeting and event planning, the old adage “nothing is permanent but change” has never been more relevant. Now, recognizing the many new questions and challenges facing the incentive industry, IRF and SITE, working with research partner Oxford Economics, have deepened the scope of the 2026 Incentive Travel Index (ITI). The comprehensive global study includes corporate end users, agencies, destination management companies (DMCs), suppliers, and destination marketing organizations (DMOs) across more than 90 countries.
“ITI is the only research instrument that examines the global incentive travel market from every angle, taking in source markets and destinations, end users and intermediaries, suppliers and DMOs,” said IRF President Stephanie Harris in a press statement. “Its value lies in that completeness and in its continuity. Seven editions now give us a longitudinal view that allows us to separate enduring industry shifts from passing weather. For 2026 we have built carefully on that historical foundation, while making space for the questions our industry is genuinely wrestling with right now.”
The 2026 ITI edition retains the four pillars that have anchored the index since its inception: budgets, benefits, program design and destination selection—adding new questions on destination risk and geopolitics, the role of the qualifier voice in destination evaluation, how teams are using artificial intelligence in practice, and the future of the DMC sector. It also introduces more refined budget granularity and a closing section of sixteen short, candid prompts designed to capture the unvarnished view from the practitioner’s desk.
The 2026 survey expansion has opened up new lines of inquiry that reflect where the industry’s attention is actually focused, said Annette Gregg, CMM, MBA, CEO of SITE. “Practitioners are being asked not just how they feel about disruption, but what concrete actions they have already taken in response to risk and geopolitical uncertainty. We are also asking whether the destinations we choose are aligned with what qualifiers themselves would choose if given a free hand, and how teams are using AI in practice across destination research, sourcing, content, personalization and program design. These are no longer theoretical questions. They are practical ones.”
SITE members are encouraged to take the survey, which will be available until July 31. It is available in English, Spanish and Chinese, takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes to complete, and is fully anonymous.
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