IRF Releases Wellness in Meetings and Incentive Travel Study
(PRWEB) March 30, 2017 -- The Incentive Research Foundation is pleased to release "The IRF Wellness in Meetings and Incentive Travel Study," an analysis of the integration of wellness into meetings and incentive travel programs. The study provides insights and benchmarks for how meeting planners are successfully incorporating wellness into their incentive travel and meetings programs. The study also uncovers a notable disconnect between an expressed interest and actual implementation of wellness programs.
The IRF conducted the study in November of 2016, and received 143 completed surveys from a pool of experienced meeting planners and hoteliers. Responses from 109 were equally split between Incentive House/Meeting Companies and Corporate End Users.
“Each year companies in the United States invest billions of dollars to both help their employees get healthier and additional billions to help them meet face to face,” said IRF President Melissa Van Dyke. “The research featured in 'The IRF Wellness in Meetings and Incentive Travel Study' leads us to question how integrated these efforts within organizations are – and what the meetings and incentives industry could do to create better synergies.”
"The IRF Wellness in Meetings and Incentive Travel Study," and its accompanying white paper, "Spanning the Wellness Divide: From Interest to Action in Meeting and Incentive Travel Wellness" provide a detailed look at practices meeting planners are using to design and implement effective wellness programs. Key findings include:
• The majority of meetings planners agreed wellness is a critical focus for either their company (87%) or their client’s company (74%)
• Over 90% of corporate and incentive house planners are personally enthusiastic about wellness
• 40% of meeting planners indicated meetings were “mostly healthy” and 19% saying “very healthy”
• The top standard preferred food & beverage wellness inclusions for meetings and events were healthy snacks (83%), water and reduced calorie drinks (82%) and fish, chicken and lean meats (80%)
• Smoke-free facilities (90%) and free access to fitness facilities (80%) were the top-ranked standard or preferred meeting design elements supporting wellness
• Offering water and reduced calorie drinks as the default (77%) had the lowest expected impact on F&B budgets
• Emerging wellness practices include “mindfulness breaks or resources” and “guides to nearby health facilities”
"The IRF Wellness in Meetings and Incentive Travel Study" also features feedback and examples from meeting planners about what practices are budget-friendly, what practices are most effective, and what their “wish list” would be if constraints were unlimited.
To view or download the full study, "The IRF Wellness in Meetings and Incentive Travel Study," or to download the white paper, "Spanning the Wellness Divide: From Interest to Action in Meeting and Incentive Travel Wellness," please visit: http://theirf.org/research/the-irf-wellness-in-meetings-and-incentive-travel-study/2054/
About the IRF:
The Incentive Research Foundation (TheIRF.org) funds and promotes research to advance the science and enhance the awareness and appropriate application of motivation and incentives in business and industry globally. The goal is to increase the understanding, effective use, and resultant benefits of incentives to businesses that currently use incentives and others interested in improved performance.
Andy Schwarz, The Incentive Research Foundation, http://www.TheIRF.org, +1 703.651.8189, [email protected]
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