CSR Trends in Incentive Travel

(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) April 12, 2011 - The Incentive Research Foundation recently released their Top Trends in Incentives for 2011, and two of them have great relevance for executives wanting their Incentive Trips to be CSR-friendly:

1. Preferring Experience Over Product

People are beginning to clamor more for experiences than products. Just over 40 percent of roundtable participants said they expect that individual travel will increase as a result of this change in personal preference. Experience has always been a strong part of incentive travel, but now we can focus on meaningful experiences with CSR-benefits by incorporating a charitable component to the trip, such as a couple of days renovating a school, building and funding and orphanage, or helping install a well or solar panels for a community.

2. Changing Social Influencers 
A number of indicators point toward a reprioritization of “what’s important” to many individuals, with more consumers dedicated to personal and planetary health, environmentally friendly purchases, and buying natural/organic consumer goods.

In its Global Workforce Study, Towers Watson found that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the third most important driver of employee engagement overall. Incorporating elements of health and sustainability into programs moving forward will be crucial.

Christopher Hill, founder of Hands Up Incentives, agrees: "CSR is only going to get more important, and incentive travel, once mocked for its lack of social and environmental concern, can play a role in actually helping improve a company's CSR reputation, and of course also help reward, retain and motivate key staff. 

Moreover, a well devised ethical incentive trip can have team building and leadership development attributes as well, and when the charitable component is agreed upon in conjunction with the community, it is 'win-win' for all concerned."

The full white paper by the IRF can be read here.

For more information about ethical incentive trips, visit www.handsupincentives.com or email info@handsupincentives.com or call 201 984 5372.

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