The incentive market in Australia and New Zealand is more buoyant than it has been in years according to some of the leading practitioners.
The much discussed ‘covid hangover’ doesn’t exist in the incentive travel reward sector any longer with the market buoyant and only looking stronger.
And the good news for Asia Pacific venue operators and individuals who promote destinations is that the strength of the incentive market currently can equate to more heads in beds and significant local spend.
Australian-based director of destination management at Ovation DMC, Sonja Söderbom, says 2025 has started off with a bang, with the company’s first quarter being stronger than 2024.
“We have had a combination of conferences and incentives in Australia, New Zealand and the Asia Pacific and while we came into 2025 thinking it may have been a softer year, short lead business is coming in the door and creating a strong pipeline for the year ahead and into 2026, which could be a stand-out year,” she says.
“February was an epic month with two large programs into Auckland – a 400-delegate pharmaceutical program and a 700-delegate construction incentive from the US that started in Sydney, chartered a cruise liner throughout the South Pacific and finished in Auckland.
“In addition to this our team has been busy managing programs in Singapore, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne for automotive, tech, and pharmaceutical industries, just to name a few.”
Söderbom says they are certainly seeing a lot of interest into New Zealand locally, with Japan and Vietnam standing out in Asia, and Barcelona and Portugal creating strong interest in Europe.
Sydney-based executive director of sales at ID Events Karen Livermore, says business has definitely been improving year-on-year post-covid.
“Tourism Australia has been doing a great job of facilitating broad interest with its communications and of course we have been active in western markets with our partners to champion Australia as a dream destination to visit for incentives,” she says.
In Australia groups have generally been doing the tried and tested programs – starting in Sydney or Melbourne and travelling north to the Whitsundays and Cairns and Port Douglas region.
“We are seeing most of our incentive business book from the United States and Europe/UK,” she says. “Numbers are steady and in fact, we have been seeing some large numbers (1000+) returning which is positive. IT/tech, motor, insurance, DSA, and food industries are all very strong incentive buyers.”
Principal of Managing Australian Destinations, Byron Kurth, says 2023 and 2024 were among the best financial years the company has had.
“Most of our business is Queensland based however we have run a number of programs in Tasmania and Western Australia,” he says.
“At the moment, the majority of our international arrivals are series groups out of the US of around 80 people. We did a couple of large New Zealand conferences, and a couple of smaller Asia groups out of Singapore. Most of the corporates we handle are domestic now.
“Tasmania is getting a lot of interest deservedly, and warmer destinations are still desirable during the winter months.”
Director of sales and product at Sydney based DIRECTIONS Conference and Incentive Management, Michael Walker, reports business for the company has started off exceptionally well in 2025.
“January was primarily focused on pre planning, but from February through to June, we have back-to-back and overlapping programs, marking one of the busiest periods. in the company’s 25-year history,” he says.
“The landscape has shifted significantly during this time. Traditionally, most programs and events are scheduled for the latter part of the calendar year, but now they are increasingly taking place at the beginning.
“There has also been a noticeable increase in inquiries this year, and more for hospitality and sporting events.” Walker says business in 2025 is both domestic and international.
“Recently in February we managed an event in Queenstown for over 100 participants as part of an annual state conference for an FMCG client. Looking ahead to April, another is going ahead in Bali with approximately 100 attendees from a similar FMCG background, and we have a small incentive group heading to Phuket with around 80 participants.”
He says there are currently two events potentially travelling to Japan later this year. “South Africa is re-emerging as a destination after being absent for some time. DIRECTIONS hosted a program in South Africa at the beginning of March and we are currently working on three programs over the next year.”
Walker says the style of incentive travel rewards does not seem drastically changed post-covid, however, there is certainly a greater emphasis on their benefits now than before.
“Face-to-face networking opportunities provided by incentive travel have gained renewed importance since covid-19 restrictions eased. This trend suggests that more incentive travel will likely emerge over the next five years.”
Similarly, MAD’s Byron Kurth doesn’t see a lot has changed in terms of incentive programs post-covid other than budgets being a little tighter. “CSR projects are certainly the flavour of the month, and we have had a bit of traction with nature-based programs – Great Barrier Reef research, rainforest tree planting, and assisting with volunteer animal shelters and the like.
“There is a focus on trying to make programs more sustainably conscious, but there seems to be a lot of green washing around, just ticking a box, rather than any real meaningful outcomes.”
New Zealand general manager of events at 212f, Adam Leslie, who runs programs in New Zealand and internationally, says business remains strong locally and could be even stronger.
“New Zealand should be a popular destination because our dollar is weak and the quality of product that we have is high. The inbound programs that we run are extremely high quality,” he says.
Leslie’s most recent group out of Australia into the South Island included five-star accommodation options and a program with all the bells and whistles. “And what was interesting to me in this group, who were from all around Australia, less than a quarter of participants had been to New Zealand before.
“I find that very common. There are so many Aussies who have never been to New Zealand before, far more than Kiwis who have been to Australia. I don’t know a single Kiwi who has never been to Australia.” He believes that bodes well for the New Zealand sector generally, with the necessity of incentive travel programs that are held annually to be held in different and new locations.
“There’s a lot more that New Zealand can do to attract Australians to New Zealand. I know there’s a big campaign to draw more business out of Australia and the rest of the world, but I just don’t know if we’re doing it as well as we could be.”
Conversely, Leslie believes that Australia’s attractiveness for New Zealand groups remains high, however challenges, particularly relating to access and perceptions about certain regions, remain. “I had a very good conversation with some operators from Darwin at AIME. This destination has some incredible product, but they don’t have any direct flights from New Zealand.”
He says that for New Zealand travellers to get to Darwin they are looking at 10 hours with flying times, flight changes and airport waiting. “We can get to Bali in 10 hours so until you get direct flights to Darwin then they simply aren’t going to have New Zealand incentive groups there.
“There are other [Australian] destinations with direct routes. I’ve been fortunate to be to Tasmania and Perth and all-around Australia and I still think, even for our clients, it’s an underrated destination. “What works against us is that because so many Kiwis have been to Australia they think that they’ve seen everything and generally they haven’t.”
Sustainable focus
Söderbom says that covid is a thing of the past, with corporates now focused on rewarding and recognising their employees and clients.
“Several insights that we are seeing from our clients are the importance of creating unique experiences and immersing participants in the local culture and traditions as well as leaving a positive impact on the community and destination,” she explains.
“Sustainable tourism is also a major focus, with companies prioritising eco-friendly practices and choosing destinations, hotels, venues and experiences based on this. “As a side note, we have had a few corporates requesting post-event reporting to include data such as dollar spend or percentage of budget that went to companies engaged on the incentive program that were sustainable companies, monies raised for charitable organisations, indigenous companies engaged, etcetera, so it will be interesting to see if this is something that is requested more in the future.”
Karen Livermore agrees that companies are looking to see ROI in more tangible ways. “The supply chain, from procurement through to marketing and eventual operations, is much more nuanced and sophisticated than it was pre-covid,” she says. Also imperative today to complete a sale, she says, is being able to inform the client on the very latest on offer.
“We are always being asked what’s new – hotel developments, resort upgrades – anchors to underpin the `why’ about a destination. Australia has had varied success with this in post-covid years – I think we could do with some more good news stories about future developments to facilitate interest in regions that struggle to sell for incentives.”
212f’s Adam Leslie says his company is seeing a trend with incentive programs that include an educational component. “It’s certainly not all clients but it is a trend we’re seeing, and it really safeguards incentives for the future with real ROI evident,” he says.
Some programs 212f has run in recent times includes having a group attending an international trade show or visiting a car manufacturing plant – related to the company – as part of their incentive. “It’s usually just a day and there remains the classic incentive features of the program,” he says.
“Doing this feels a bit more balanced and rounded when there is an educational element to the program. A lot of people who go on these incentives are usually the business owners and having an education element really justifies them taking the time to go on these trips.
“We had more of these last year and we certainly have more of them this year.” Leslie stresses that incentives are all about bespoke experiences and destination marketers have to really think about what makes their regions stand out from the rest. “I’ve done three incentives to Western Australia and within the program the attendees have swum with whale sharks.
“That’s one of my top incentive experiences globally. And I remember years ago Perth [Convention Bureau] said to me do I want to bring some clients over to Perth to see what was available and I said sure and then they sent me a draft program and it was all about Perth and nothing else like swimming with whale sharks. “I said I can’t let my clients sit on a plane for seven hours and bring them to just another Aussie city. I said you’ve got whale sharks, just a two hour flight from Perth. You’ve got such unique experiences. That’s what my clients want.”
