Travel incentives are currently enjoying widespread application in the organizational milieu.
Unlike other incentives, travel incentives have 'trophy value' which implies that they provide
long-lasting positive reinforcement, an element that adds to their motivational value. The
literature supports the value of incentive travel as a motivational technique; however a paucity
of empirically based research which examines the attractiveness and effectiveness of travel
incentives suggests the need for further study. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to
examine the comparable attractiveness of the most popular incentives and to determine the
influence of social pressure on incentive attractiveness. The motivational effect of contests was
also examined. The results indicated that the two 'travel-type' rewards received the highest
attractiveness ratings and that the influence of social pressure on reward attractiveness was
significant. Furthermore, respondents reported that contests improve their motivation and
performance levels.