The survey, completed by 286 industry professionals in May 2026, asked respondents to rank the factors they consider most important when choosing a DMC. Local Expertise and Authentic Insight emerged as the highest-ranked criterion, followed closely by Reputation and Relationships. Together, these factors significantly outperformed all other selection criteria, underscoring the continued importance of destination knowledge, trust and local networks within the incentive travel sector.

New Research Examines DMC Selection Priorities

According to the findings, Responsiveness and Agility as well as Service Breadth, Creativity and Customisation formed a second tier of decision-making factors. Criteria such as Technology and Systems Capability, Scale and Organisational Reach, Financial Stability and Market Presence ranked considerably lower overall. The results suggest that buyers continue to view DMCs primarily as strategic local partners rather than logistics providers. SITE noted that the findings reflect the growing importance of authentic destination experiences, operational flexibility and local market knowledge as incentive travel programmes become increasingly complex and participant expectations continue to evolve.