NI’s President’s Club has been recognising their top performers across its EMEA region for almost 2 decades. Previous winners have travelled to Mauritius, Marrakech, Portugal and Madeira, but for 2026, NI was ready to take the annual incentive in a different direction. Iceland had been on the wish list for years, but had always been considered out of reach on budget. So, when NI came to us for the first time, that was the challenge in front of us.
The brief was to create a 4-night Icelandic experience for 52 guests that moved away from the familiar rhythm of luxury beach resorts towards something more active and adventurous. It needed to feel worthy of the achievement, give people different ways to enjoy the destination and, importantly, work within budget, but there was another consideration too. Iceland is a place of extraordinary landscapes, communities and traditions, and experiencing it responsibly mattered to both teams. That meant looking carefully at the choices behind the trip, from where the group stayed and what they ate to how local communities became part of the experience.
With a group of 52 people, a more active itinerary couldn’t mean expecting everyone to enjoy Iceland in the same way. Together with NI, we built the programme to give people plenty to experience, while leaving enough choice for guests to decide what that looked like for them. We based the programme at The Reykjavik EDITION, giving the group a five-star base in the heart of the city, where, beyond being one of the city’s leading hotels, its approach complemented the priorities we were working towards with NI, including locally sourced seasonal ingredients, refillable amenities, recycling and a preference for Icelandic suppliers.
The trip opened with a rooftop welcome dinner, where NI’s president presented each couple with a thank you gift. Tuesday and Thursday then gave guests a choice of optional activities, including whale watching, the Sky Lagoon, horse riding, snorkelling and a lava tunnel. We made these opt-in deliberately so that those keen to pack their days could do exactly that, while anyone wanting a slower pace had time to enjoy Reykjavík in their own way.
Wednesday brought the whole group back together for the Golden Circle by super-jeep, taking in Þingvellir, the Geysir hot springs and Gullfoss before snowmobiling on a glacier and sitting down to a barbecue in a hut on the ice. That evening shifted the pace again, with a local guide taking the group to a small, famously homely
lobster restaurant in Reykjavík. Sustainability and cultural respect were considered throughout the programme. Welcome gifts were sourced within Iceland, including handcrafted Vík Wool hats, small-batch Omnom chocolate and Icelandic sea salt, keeping both spend and sourcing closer to the destination.
Menus made the most of local seafood, skyr and lamb, with plant-based alternatives included where appropriate and dietary requirements, including coeliac needs, catered for throughout. When fermented shark was discussed as a traditional tasting experience, we decided together that it wasn’t the right choice on ethical or guest experience grounds, opting for fermented fish instead.
For the farewell dinner, folklorist Atli Freyr Hjaltason and his community group shared traditional dances and stories with the group. Working with them directly meant 100% of the fee stayed within the community, while guests experienced Icelandic culture through the people keeping those traditions alive. The same thinking carried through to travel and materials. Direct flights were prioritised where reasonable, with 95% of guests travelling via economy, and the printed keepsake booklet, created as a meaningful memento of the achievement, used recycled materials. Any surplus copies were kept for reuse rather than discarded.
Ingrid Aschenbrenner
Sr. Executive Assistant, EMEA Sales, NI
President’s Club 2026 gave NI the change of direction it had been looking for, moving away from the familiar resort format and giving 52 guests a more active and personal way to celebrate their achievement.
The experience brought together big, shared moments, from snowmobiling across a glacier and barbecuing on the ice, with enough choice for guests to experience Iceland at their own pace. It also proved that a destination previously considered out of reach could work within the available budget. By contracting a year ahead and negotiating costs early, we delivered the programme
within budget without compromising the premium experience NI wanted for its winners and their partners. The responsible choices made along the way became a natural part of that experience too. Local sourcing, direct community partnerships, considered menus, lower-impact travel decisions and reduced waste helped NI experience more of what made Iceland distinctive while being thoughtful about its impact on the destination. And for a first project together, it’s given both teams something to build on, with planning for President’s Club 2027 is already underway.
June 2026
November 2025
June 2024
September 2024
October 2023
April 2025
September 2024
November 2022
September 2023
