12/08/2026
I’ve been thinking a lot about Seoul since returning home, and one of the things that really stayed with me was how naturally the city seems to lean into personalisation.
Not in an over-the-top or monogram everything way. More in a very practical, considered way that makes you feel like the experience has been shaped around you, rather than simply presented to you.
The beauty and skincare world is probably the most obvious example.
In one flagship store, I was able to have my skin analysed before buying anything. In another, the experience went even further, with skincare products able to be customised and made specifically for my skin.
As someone who can be easily overwhelmed by shelves and shelves of products, this felt incredibly clever. It took away some of the guesswork and turned shopping into something more personal, more useful and much more engaging.
And to be fair, if I am going to spend my life savings at Olive Young, I do appreciate having some science behind the decision.
Then there was colour analysis, which helped me understand the tones that actually work best for me. I have to admit, there is something both fascinating and slightly confronting about being told that some of the colours you have been wearing for years may not be doing you any favours.
The expert also suggested a hair colour that would be “more harmonious” for me, which is a very elegant way of saying that perhaps I had been fighting my own undertone for quite some time.
So I did what any sensible person on a work trip would do. I changed my hair colour that night in Seoul, before I had the chance to get home and talk myself out of it. Annoyingly, she was right. I really like it.
Even food seemed to follow the same idea. My bibimbap arrived with a collection of condiments and side dishes, so the final flavour could be adjusted to my own taste. The meal had the same starting point, but each person could make it their own.
And that is what got me thinking about incentive travel. We talk a lot about creating curated experiences, but I think there is a difference between something being beautifully organised and something feeling genuinely personal.
The strongest incentive programs are not always the ones that simply offer the most luxurious hotel, the most glam dinner or the most impressive reveal. Those things have their place, of course, but people do not all feel rewarded in the same way.
Some guests want discovery. Some want wellness. Some want culture. Some want food. Some want shopping. Some want something hands on. Some want a slower moment where they can just absorb the destination without being rushed through it.
And some, apparently, need to fly to Seoul to be gently told their hair colour could be more ‘harmonious’.
What Seoul does so well is allow for those personal moments without losing the shared group experience.
Everyone can still be part of the same destination story, but each person has the chance to take something different from it. A skin profile. A colour palette. A product made for them. A flavour combination they created themselves. A small moment that feels considered.
Because personalisation in incentive travel should not mean giving people endless choices and hoping they find their own way through the program. That can quickly become overwhelming.
The real opportunity is in designing thoughtful moments where guests feel seen, without making the experience complicated.
Seoul reminded me that personalisation does not have to be complicated or expensive. It can be subtle, useful, playful and memorable.
And sometimes, it is as simple as walking away from a skincare consultation thinking, “Well, apparently my face needed that wake-up call.”
Or changing your hair colour within hours because a very stylish Korean colour expert gently suggested you might look better if you stopped fighting your own undertone.
Which, to be honest, was inconveniently good advice.
