SITE looks ahead to 50th Global Conference in New York City

The Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) previewed what members can expect during the association’s 50th-anniversary year ahead in 2023, as the incentive travel industry continues to rebound quickly.

Commenting on the Board’s selection, Kevin Edmunds, MS, CITP, Vice President, AIC Hotel Group & SITE President, said “SITE returns to North America for 2023, with a city that is “always on,” and has a proven track record of resiliency and a unique ability to meet the moment time and time again. We look forward to working with our destination partners to create a truly memorable Global Conference celebration for next year.”

Global Conference collaborations are already off to a strong start with next year’s host destination.

“We are thrilled to welcome the SITE Global Conference back to New York City next year. We share a long history, having hosted the first-ever meeting of the Society of Incentive Travel Executives in NYC almost 50 years ago,” said NYC & Company President and CEO Fred Dixon. “With a robust hotel inventory including over 9,000 new rooms debuting this year, world-class venues, iconic museums and attractions, exclusive experiences, and so much more to be found across all five boroughs, there is no better time to visit our vibrant destination. We greatly look forward to welcoming SITE attendees — and their clients — to NYC once again.”

SITE leadership has also already started turning their attention to next year’s Conference and its alignment with a key milestone for the association.

Rebecca Wright, Interim Executive Director for SITE, shared, “New York City is the perfect destination for our 2023 Global Conference, where we will also be celebrating SITE’s 50^th anniversary year. With such a great legacy and historical ties between SITE and the city, we are thrilled to bring a vibrant, exciting event to life next year in a destination we hope our members will be equally excited to experience with us.”

Next year’s SITE Global Conference will take place the week of February 13, with registration set to open in late 2022.

At IMEX

AT Imex, Rebecca Wright, Interim Executive Director for SITE, said recently, “Our 50th-anniversary year presents interesting opportunities for us. We’re even more focused on making the business case for incentive travel, as we see pent-up demand from corporations that found other motivations and rewards they had to use during the pandemic were not as impactful. We’re definitely seeing a need and resurgence.”

SITE Foundation was also well-represented. Vice President of Content & Research Selina Sinclair spoke about current and upcoming SITE Foundation research, including the third edition of Corporate inSITEs and Leadership inSITEs, with findings of the latter set to roll out throughout the spring. Selina also briefly touched on upcoming projects, including the Incentive Travel Index, which launched at IMEX Frankfurt on Tuesday.

“SITE Foundation took a new approach with the launch of its inSITEs series” explained Selina, noting that the Corporate, Leadership, and Participant inSITEs research tracks the pulse of the market, and offers insightful data for members and others to take into account when making plans for their businesses.

Also, SITE Foundation team will begin final preparation for SITE Classic, taking place September 11-14 in Boca Raton, Florida, and for IMEX America, where SITE and SITE Foundation look forward to bringing an equally energetic presence.