Industry Trend Watch: Answering a Call to the Wild

Results are in: nature’s calling!

Research shows that corporate clients are driving a trend to “nature escapes” in recent years. Meetings and events ranging from executive retreats to annual meetings to incentive travel, are leaning to locations that boast natural experiences.

Many clients are seeking simpler, quiet venues outside of city limits, to afford space to leave the worries of the office behind. Additionally, we are seeing we a deeper “call to the wild” - a trend in top firms to offer extraordinary experiences for their elite talent through what used to be considered “extreme” adventures, such as snow skiing, zip lining, an high seas excursions.

Why is this happening? While we won’t know for sure, some probable theories are emerging. COVID-19 sparked a seismic shift in how corporations thought about gathering. As the world sought to create physical distance between individuals to manage the health crisis, corporate travel shifted to seek outdoor meeting spaces. Quality venues that could accommodate corporate groups sold out, and the sudden shift in demand would reshape corporate travel as we knew it. The genie would not go back in that bottle, and the industry responded with a dramatic expansion in options, reimagining how and where corporate meetings and events could be effective.

Today’s corporate events have a plethora of options to satisfy the ever-competitive environment of firms seeking to retain top talent, connect at deeper, relationship-building levels, and form the kind of special bonds that make extraordinary teams unbeatable in the marketplace.