How a Remote Region of India Made It Onto the Incentive Map

When Rajeev Kohli, joint managing director at Creative Travel – India and Beyond, first met with the events team at the Mexican direct sales giant Omnilife, they told him they were looking for “a very emotional and unique trip” for their the top 0.5% to 1% of sellers, known as “The Diamonds.”

It’s a challenging group to impress, having already been on incentive trips all over the world, from Egypt to Turkey to Japan.

But they had not been to Ladakh, India. In fact, most had never even heard of it, and no company had ever used it for an international incentive trip.

Kohli had only made his first trip to this region in February of 2021. “I had it on my dream list for years. I cried when I arrived at the airport. It was a dream come true. Before I returned home, a mission was set in my head — to bring an incentive here.” 

It was this passion for the destination that persuaded Omnilife’s management to select it as the first stop on a three-destination incentive. The trip he proposed for the 32 qualifiers did not include the typical highlights of India’s Golden Triangle, such as the Taj Mahal and Jaipur, but began instead in Leh, the capital of Ladakh, home to just 30,000 residents and an hour-and-a-half flight from Delhi Airport.

To deliver on the mission of spirituality, experiences included a traditional monk blessing, a rooftop stargazing night, and a group walk on a frozen river. The group then journeyed to another unconventional incentive travel destination, Varanasi, where they had a chance to watch the sun rise over the Ganges. The final stop was the Maldives. 

The planners faced many logistical challenges, among them finding a Spanish-speaking Ladakhi resident to act as a translator, and getting the group acclimated to the high altitudes.

ROI and Industry Recognition  

The privately held Omnilife, which was started 35 years ago as a family business, now has annual revenues of $584 million, more than 5,000 employees, and 7 million independent distributors. Incentive travel is an integral part of its sales strategy, with multiple trips each year, ranging from smaller ones within Mexico to the main trip for 4,000 independent reps.

The Ladakh trip resulted in a 30% increase in year-over-year revenue among qualifiers, and the company reported a 100% retention rate in an industry known for its high turnover. 

The program also won Creative Travel a 2026 Par Excellence Crystal Award, the top honor from the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence, along with the Crystal for Excellence in Incentive Travel, Asia Pacific.

This unusual trip to an unknown and unproven incentive destination had two objectives, and Kohli said it achieved both: “to be a thank you and to light a fire under everyone to do more.”