Congratulations to Sarah McDonald, one of nine Global Conference scholarship recipients.
Sarah will be attending our 2026 Global Conference in Abu Dhabi thanks to the generous support of SITE Foundation.
Here is Sarah’s winning essay, where she details how SITE has helped shape her incentive travel career so far.
“There aren’t enough words to express how much SITE has completely changed my life.”
That’s the line I keep coming back to when I think about this essay, because everything I’ve learned, everyone who has believed in me, and every door that has opened in my career traces back to that truth.
SITE has given me mentorship, leadership opportunities, friendships, and ultimately, the courage to take the biggest leap of my career, launching my own DMC, Roam, in May 2025.
I grew up in Dunedin, a small town at the bottom of the world. It’s not a place known for incentives, but from the very beginning, hospitality was part of my life. In fact, my birth interrupted my Nana’s dinner party, where she was hosting fifty German tourists on our family’s deer farm, offering them a true New Zealand manaakitanga experience.
From that first day, I was immersed in the value of welcoming people and creating meaningful experiences.
I began my career in regional tourism in my hometown of Dunedin, working as a city tourism officer with Enterprise Dunedin.
Those early experiences gave me a strong foundation in destination promotion and events, but it wasn’t until I moved to Queenstown to join the Queenstown Convention Bureau that the “I” in MICE, C&I, or business events truly made sense to me.
I’ll never forget a client saying, “Sarah, Queenstown is our next destination, and we need a WOW dinner location. The last dinner they held was at the feet of the Sphinx, and they even got permission to serve alcohol there, as they were liquor distributors.”
That was my oh, I get it now moment. Incentive travel wasn’t just about venues and logistics: it was about creating once-in-a-lifetime experiences that people would carry with them forever.
Queenstown opened my eyes to the scale and creativity of incentive travel, but what shaped me most were the people around me. Mentors, colleagues, and even competitors took me under their wing, encouraged me, and saw potential I hadn’t yet believed in myself.
Those experiences showed me that this industry isn’t just about events: it’s about people, relationships, and moments that make experiences meaningful.
Through another mentor, I was introduced to the SITE Australia & New Zealand Chapter and offered the opportunity to speak at their conference as a Young Leader.
That moment opened the door to becoming the first Young Leader representative on the SITE Australia & New Zealand Board, a role that changed how I saw myself and my potential.
And then came the moments that defined exactly why I love this work. It was SITE members, mentors, and now friends who created them.
Standing atop the Sydney Harbour Bridge with the International Board of Directors team as the sun set, greeted by a saxophone player, a moment created by Collette Baini, I thought, this is exactly where I want to be, and this is what I want to be creating for people.
Other moments were quieter, like conversations with mentors who reminded me that I belonged at the table, or peers who generously shared knowledge and encouragement.
One of the most memorable moments came when I had the chance to connect with SITE China’s only Young Leader. We shared our love for the industry, and also discussed the challenges we each face from our perspectives.
It was amazing to discover how similar our experiences were, yet how much we could learn from each other. That opportunity would never have been possible without SITE.
These experiences reinforced for me that incentive travel is about creating moments, not just events, because life really is a series of moments, and those are the ones that stay with you.
These moments didn’t just inspire me, they gave me courage. Courage to believe I could step into leadership. Courage to believe that I, too, could create transformational experiences. And ultimately, courage to take my biggest leap yet.
In May 2025, I launched my own DMC company, Roam. That decision was the result of years of learning, mentorship, and the endless support I’ve found in SITE. Without that community, Roam would never have been possible.
My vision for Roam is clear: to bring the best of global incentive experiences, learnings, and networks back home to New Zealand. I want to prove that even here, at the bottom of the world, we can stand alongside the biggest players in the incentive market.
I aspire to be a leader for younger generations, showing them what’s possible, and to support my community by sharing the insights, connections, and opportunities I gain.
I see myself as a connector and a sharer, never a gatekeeper. Even as I step away from my direct role leading the Queenstown Convention Bureau, my values remain the same, to lead with openness, collaboration, and manaakitanga.
Being in New Zealand, it’s easy to feel geographically isolated. But we are an incredible country with the same ambitions for success, and through SITE, I’ve experienced firsthand how connected we can be to the global incentive community.
While I’ve already been so blessed with life-changing opportunities through SITE, now being a start-up, it’s scholarships like this that will keep not only me, but New Zealand, connected to the global network.
I still have so much to learn, in my career in incentive travel, as a new, young business owner trying to make a mark for my country, and as a mentor showing other young leaders what we can achieve.
It’s opportunities like the SITE Global Conference, where the network is nothing but supportive, that will help me continue to grow and contribute. You couldn’t ask for a better advocate — SITE has literally changed my life.
This scholarship is bigger than just me. The opportunity to attend the SITE Global Conference will allow me to connect with peers from across the world, deepen my learning, and bring those insights back to shape my company and community in New Zealand.
Every new connection, every conversation, every shared story will become part of the foundation I can offer others, helping them see what incentive travel can mean, both personally and professionally.
Because while there may not be enough words to capture all the ways SITE has changed my life, there are moments. From a deer farm in Dunedin, to a sunset saxophone on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, to conversations with Young Leaders across the globe, to standing on the global stage in Abu Dhabi, every moment has brought me closer to where I am today.
At the heart of it all, I am reminded of the Māori proverb, “He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.” it is people, it is people, it is people. I hope to have the opportunity to connect with our people in Abu Dhabi at the SITE Global Conference 2026.
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