The Destination Index — by departure city
The Best Incentive Travel Destinations from Los Angeles
The IncentiveTrips Destination Index re-ranked for programs departing Los Angeles (LAX). Fares are city-specific modeled ballparks — the published distance curve priced from LAX — and reachability draws from the US West row; the four origin-independent pillars — momentum, safety, infrastructure, and planner fit — are unchanged. The global Index remains the canonical ranking; this is the same math, priced from Los Angeles.
Standings as of 2026-09-15. Recomputed on live data.
| # | Destination | Country | Fare from LAX | Score | vs global |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riviera Maya & Cancún | Mexico | $440 | 75.2 | — |
| 2 | Scottsdale | United States | $190 | 72.8 | ▲16 |
| 3 | Los Cabos | Mexico | $320 | 72.7 | ▲12 |
| 4 | Bangkok | Thailand | $1,020 | 72.6 | ▼2 |
| 5 | Mexico City | Mexico | $340 | 72.4 | ▲3 |
| 6 | Bali | Indonesia | $1,100 | 72.2 | ▼2 |
| 7 | San Diego | United States | $120 | 72.2 | ▲19 |
| 8 | Buenos Aires | Argentina | $1,020 | 71.8 | ▲17 |
| 9 | Vancouver | Canada | $300 | 71.4 | ▲13 |
| 10 | Phuket | Thailand | $1,130 | 71.2 | ▼4 |
| 11 | Punta Cana | Dominican Republic | $600 | 71.0 | ▼1 |
| 12 | Nashville | United States | $460 | 70.9 | ▼1 |
| 13 | Tokyo | Japan | $990 | 70.6 | ▼10 |
| 14 | Dubrovnik | Croatia | $1,070 | 70.3 | ▼2 |
| 15 | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | $1,010 | 70.0 | ▼8 |
| 16 | Tulum | Mexico | $480 | 70.0 | ▲12 |
| 17 | New Orleans | United States | $420 | 69.8 | ▲12 |
| 18 | Lisbon | Portugal | $820 | 69.5 | ▼13 |
| 19 | Seoul | South Korea | $1,030 | 69.5 | ▼5 |
| 20 | Norwegian Fjords (Bergen) | Norway | $960 | 69.5 | ▲1 |
| 21 | Miami | United States | $430 | 69.4 | ▼5 |
| 22 | Costa Rica (Guanacaste) | Costa Rica | $570 | 69.4 | ▲10 |
| 23 | Athens | Greece | $940 | 69.0 | ▼10 |
| 24 | Da Nang | Vietnam | $1,050 | 69.0 | ▲11 |
| 25 | Singapore | Singapore | $1,100 | 68.8 | ▼16 |
| 26 | Porto | Portugal | $880 | 68.8 | ▼9 |
| 27 | Kyoto | Japan | $1,050 | 68.7 | ▲3 |
| 28 | Kotor | Montenegro | $1,130 | 68.7 | ▲6 |
| 29 | Colorado Rockies (USA) | United States | $300 | 68.5 | ▲20 |
| 30 | Hoi An (Vietnam) | Vietnam | $1,050 | 68.1 | ▲11 |
| 31 | Maui | United States | $530 | 68.1 | ▲14 |
| 32 | Banff | Canada | $390 | 68.1 | ▲22 |
| 33 | Budapest | Hungary | $920 | 67.6 | ▼9 |
| 34 | Napa Valley | United States | $190 | 67.5 | ▲24 |
| 35 | Vienna | Austria | $950 | 67.0 | ▼12 |
| 36 | Prague | Czechia | $890 | 67.0 | ▼9 |
| 37 | Madrid | Spain | $870 | 66.9 | ▼18 |
| 38 | Jamaica (Montego Bay) | Jamaica | $530 | 66.8 | ▲6 |
| 39 | Barcelona | Spain | $860 | 66.7 | ▼19 |
| 40 | Algarve | Portugal | $880 | 66.7 | ▼1 |
| 41 | Charleston | United States | $540 | 66.4 | ▲6 |
| 42 | Panama City | Panama | $550 | 66.0 | ▲10 |
| 43 | Sedona | United States | $200 | 66.0 | ▲22 |
| 44 | Iceland (Reykjavik) | Iceland | $750 | 65.8 | ▼13 |
| 45 | Sydney | Australia | $1,210 | 65.7 | ▼2 |
| 46 | Melbourne | Australia | $1,220 | 65.6 | — |
| 47 | Lake Bled | Slovenia | $1,080 | 65.3 | ▲8 |
| 48 | Dublin | Ireland | $750 | 65.1 | ▼11 |
| 49 | Punta Mita | Mexico | $360 | 65.0 | ▲15 |
| 50 | Rio de Janeiro | Brazil | $1,020 | 64.2 | ▲16 |
Fares are modeled round-trip ballparks from Los Angeles (LAX), not live quotes. “vs global” is each destination's move against its position on the global Destination Index.
How this ranking works
Only the two pillars that genuinely depend on where attendees fly from are re-scored. Value shifts with the fare difference between the US-blend baseline and this origin; air access blends each destination's global nonstop coverage with a published origin-to-region reachability score. Both adjustments flow into the composite at the Index's published pillar weights — value 15%, air access 20%.
- value_o = value + 20 · (fare_US − fare_origin) / max(fare_US, 300), capped ±20
- air_o = 0.5 · air_access + 0.5 · reach(origin → region)
- total_o = total + 0.15 · Δvalue + 0.20 · Δair
- fare = $118 + 0.913 · d^0.75, anchored per destination
- city fares: fare = ($118 + 0.9127 · d^0.75) × destination anchor, d = great-circle km from LAX
Fares come from a distance-based model anchored to each destination — modeled ballparks, not live quotes. Every input is published; no destination pays to be ranked. The global Destination Index is the canonical standing.
Also ranked from
By region: US East · US Central · US West · Europe · Latin America · Asia-Pacific · Middle East & Africa
More from US West: San Francisco · Seattle
All cities: London · Paris · Frankfurt · Amsterdam · Madrid · Milan · Zurich · Stockholm · Dublin · New York · Boston · Miami · Atlanta · Toronto · Chicago · Dallas · Denver · Mexico City · São Paulo · Buenos Aires · Singapore · Hong Kong · Tokyo · Seoul · Shanghai · Sydney · Melbourne · Mumbai · Delhi · Bangkok · Dubai · Riyadh · Doha · Tel Aviv · Johannesburg