{"id":3751,"date":"2025-03-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siteglobal.com\/breaking-down-budgets-next-value-incentive-travel-destinations\/"},"modified":"2025-08-27T14:17:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T14:17:10","slug":"breaking-down-budgets-next-value-incentive-travel-destinations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siteglobal.com\/blog\/breaking-down-budgets-next-value-incentive-travel-destinations\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking down budgets: next-value incentive travel destinations"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a conundrum that\u2019s top of mind for many incentive professionals right now: how to stretch your planning dollars, while still delivering standout experiences that will result in truly transformational incentive travel programs.<\/o:p><\/h2>

Ready to share some solutions to exactly this challenge is experienced incentive professional Tiffany Cohen, who led a vibrant exploration of emerging, budget-friendly incentive travel destinations at this year\u2019s SITE Global Conference.\u00a0<\/o:p><\/h3>

Tiffany, who serves as Senior Vice President of Incentives and Global Sourcing at Opus Agency, left Global Conference attendees with plenty of exciting destination ideas to begin exploring as they chart new options for 2026 programs and beyond.<\/o:p><\/p>

Pointing to findings from the 2024 Incentive Travel Index<\/a>, which found that 70 percent of incentive buyers are actively looking for new-to-them destinations not previously used before, Tiffany began her breakout session by making the case for the industry to adopt a different lens on destination selection.\u00a0<\/o:p><\/p>

We can widen considerations, she said, to include what she called \u201cnew value\u201d destinations. With some respondents reporting flat, or even reduced expected program spend as another trend coming from the Incentive Travel Index, Tiffany advised keeping in mind the adage that \u201cYou don\u2019t need a bigger budget: you need a better idea\u201d when challenged to find interesting and fresh destinations to pitch back to clients.\u00a0<\/o:p><\/p>

Tiffany began her presentation with a deeper exploration of Fiji, an example she said stands out since it\u2019s not a destination that many planners might think of as a budget-friendly option.<\/o:p><\/p>

When you start doing the math though \u2014 as Tiffany did, for attendees in the breakout \u2014 costs are relatively comparable for flights, and noticeably lower (at the time of her presentation) for lodging, food & beverage packages, and activities.\u00a0<\/o:p><\/p>

Fiji is also a leader in ecotourism, Tiffany pointed out, and offers great CSR options: ticking even more must-includes that are increasingly part of incentive travel RFPs.\u00a0<\/o:p><\/p>

Tiffany offered several other higher level comparisons, that included:<\/o:p><\/p>