We've Been Saying This For Years. Now There's Research To Prove It

Every DMC Network member has had some version of this conversation. A client asks why they should go with an independently owned company. The answer has always been the same: because we know this place, pick up the phone ourselves, and care how your programme goes.

We've believed that for as long as we've existed. Now the SITE Pulse Survey, published this spring by the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence, asked buyers directly what matters to them. The answer is exactly what we've been saying all along.

What the SITE Pulse Survey found

The Pulse Survey asked 286 incentive travel professionals to weigh eight factors when choosing a DMC. The results were not close. Local expertise and authentic insight topped the list with a weighted score of 3.47 out of 5, followed by reputation and relationships at 3.32. Together, those two factors scored roughly four and a half times higher than technology and financial stability combined, which came in at 0.47 and 0.40, the two lowest scores in the survey.

Responsiveness and agility scored 1.95, and service breadth and creativity scored 1.82, forming a clear second tier, well ahead of technology and scale. And when the Pulse Survey asked buyers to name their single top priority, 42% pointed to reputation and relationships, and 34% pointed to local expertise. For most buyers, these aren't just factors they rate highly. They're the deciding factor.

That tracks with what we've always believed. Buyers aren't choosing a DMC for its booking platform or balance sheet. They're choosing someone who knows the destination, has the right relationships, and can be trusted to deliver, and now the Pulse Survey puts numbers behind it.

Why we've built things this way

The industry is consolidating quickly, and there's a real logic to it: scale can bring efficiency and useful investment in technology. It just isn't what buyers say tips the balance when choosing who to trust with a programme.

We built the DMC Network around a different bet: that decisions made in destination, by people who live there, produce better outcomes for clients. Each member is independently owned and managed, locally rooted, held to the same vetted standards, and answerable to a real person rather than a head office.

Our members show up the way the Pulse Survey says buyers want: responsive, close to the client relationship, and personally invested in the outcome. Buyers rarely ask for “an independent DMC” by name. What they ask for is speed, flexibility, accountability, and local depth, and independence is why those qualities show up.

What we bring to the table

Four things work together:

1. Destination expertise. Our 50+ member-partners are true locals, owner-led, with supplier relationships built up over years.

2. Global reach. We work across 100+ destinations and manage more than $320 million in destination services a year.

3. One point of contact. One conversation connects you to the right local expert, with our team alongside you from the first call to final delivery.

4. Independence. Our members are entrepreneurs, not corporate subsidiaries, meeting full ADMEI accreditation standards and picking up 16 industry awards between them in 2025 alone.

What to ask when you're choosing a DMC

Ask less about size and technology, more about fundamentals: how long have you worked in this destination? Who do you know here? What does your accreditation cover? Who is personally accountable for my programme?

Those are the questions the SITE Pulse Survey says actually predict a great programme, and they're the ones our members are built to answer with confidence.

Great programmes are built on expertise, trust, and relationship. We've known that since day one. Good to see the research catching up.

We're here for you. Find a DMC Network member in your destination at dmcnetwork.com.

References

1.  Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE). SITE Pulse Survey, May 2026. 286 respondents across six industry groups: agency/incentive house, hotel and supplier, DMC, corporate end user, consultant/academic, and DMO/NTO/CVB. Full report at siteglobal.com.

2.  Association of Destination Management Executives International (ADMEI). Accreditation standards and industry commentary. admei.org