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Incentive Travel 2025: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities

Smart Meetings

Lucky for planners, incentive travel is growing. Only 8% of North American corporate and agency buyers report decreased activity over 2024 and 2025, and only 6% have reported decreases for 2026. Gregg cited the budget allocations for 2023 versus 2024, looking at the different areas of a budget that planners typically work with.

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Case Study: A Masterclass in Goosebump Moments

Smart Meetings

Hosts Global Forum convened in Athens to celebrate ferocious creativity Destination Management Companies (DMCs) embody a wealth of resources for planners, helping with access for everything from transportation and entertainment to decor and gifting. They are strategic partners who can help build a program based on client goals and budgets.

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Smart Travel: Chase and Travelport Team Up, Ottawa Airport and Light Rail Transit Connect, New Security Screening Wows in Frankfurt and More

Smart Meetings

As airlines increasingly adopt New Distribution Capability (NDC) technology, Travelports solution ensures that planners and business travelers can efficiently compare and book the best options across multiple suppliers. I cant wait to bring the newly formed Aethos Club to the world!

Travel 228
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How Planners Can Manage The “Easy Button” in Events

Smart Meetings

Partnering with agencies can reduce cost and save time In many scenarios, planners have limited resources on hand. That often means seeking out third-party agencies and independent planners to attain their goals and create a stellar event. According to Crosby this amounts to 20-30% of what a planner could have spent.

Planner 246
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New and Renovated: Most Anticipated of Openings of 2025

Smart Meetings

This plan will position AT&T Hotel & Conference Center as the premier destination for conferences and events taking place in Austin and ensures that planners coordinating events in Austin in the coming years will face little to no disruption even as they do not have access to the convention center during its closure.

Affiliate 246
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Brand USA Focus on MICE and Special Events Could Expand Annual Global Travel Beyond 90 Million in the Future

Smart Meetings

Global meeting planners are exceeding expectations. Brand USA, a public-private partnership focused on increasing international travel, reported that in 2026, the U.S. is on track to welcome 90 million visitors one year ahead of the goal outlined by the National Travel and Tourism Strategy report.

Travel 165
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Meeting Planners Travel Report: Euro Travel Rebounds, JFK Terminal Tech-Savvy 6 Breaks Ground

Smart Meetings

Terminal 6 at JFK The new Terminal 6 is a public-private partnership between the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and JFK Millennium Partners which is developing the new terminal in two phases, with the first new gates opening in 2026 and construction completion in 2028.

Travel 246