THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS TRAVEL UNVEILED

The future of business travel

28 O n day three of ATM (May 11), the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) hosted two conference sessions, one of which provided insights on the future of the business travel sector.

Catherine Logan, Regional Vice President – EMEA, GBTA, presented ndings of the the BTI Outlook (Nov 2021). Now in its 13th edition, the BTI Outlook is an exhaustive annual study of business travel spending and growth covering 73 countries across 44 industries.

It found business travel activity has begun its rebound from the sharp downturn brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. A er declining 53.8 per cent in 2020 to $661 billion, global expenditures are expected to have rebounded 14 per cent in 2021 to $754 billion and to $1 trillion in 2022.

“ is trend is supported by both our own monthly GBTA polls and from feedback we are hearing across the industry,” said Logan.

She added: “By 2024, global business travel is forecast to have made a full recovery, ending the year at $1.48 trillion or just above the 2019 pre-pandemic spend of $1.4 trillion.”

Logan said business travel recovery would vary by region, country and industry over this period due to economic and political factors such as persistent COVID-related threats and disruptions, supply chain strains, labour shortages, rising in ation and increased costs.

“Additionally, yet to be determined are the potential impacts of emerging factors including broad adoption of remote working models, long-term cuts or elimination of business trips and travel volume, and the increased focus on sustainability practices and policies for business travel,” she added. e latest GBTA poll results released at the end of April reveal business travel is surging, international travel is returning and despite new challenges, industry recovery is entrenched, with 80 per cent of companies now permitting some or more domestic business travel within their country, an increase of 13 percentage points on the association’s February poll.

Similarly, 55 per cent of companies now allow some or more international business travel, an increase of 26 percentage points compared to February.

Corporate travel bookings are returning too, with 88 per cent of suppliers and travel management companies (TMCs) reporting their bookings increased in the prior month (March).

“ is is much higher than the share who said the same in February (45 per cent),” said Logan.

In addition, companies reporting they sometimes allow non-essential domestic business travel increased to 86 per cent in April’s poll, up from 73 per cent in February, while international travel made a big jump with 74 per cent reporting their company now permits it, up 26 percentage points from February.

Employee travel willingness had rocketed, says the GBTA

$1.48 trillion

Business travel spend predicted for 2024 Above the 2019 pre-pandemic spend of $1.4 trillion

80%

Of companies now permit some or more domestic business travel within their country

55%

Of companies now permit some or more international business travel within their country

88%

Of suppliers and TMCs reported corporate travel booking increases in March, compared to 45% in February

94%

Of GBTA buyers and procurement professionals believe their employees are now “willing” or “very willing” to travel for business in the current environment.

(Source: BTI Outlook (Nov 2021) and GBTA polls)

BUSINESS TRAVEL MEGATRENDS

As the business travel industry heads towards total recovery, there are megatrends emerging that will reshape the sector, according to GBTA’s Catherine Logan, who outlined them as follows:

TREND 1 New opportunities for business travel

The pandemic has redefined business travel as we once knew it.

‘Travel for Business’ could now include ‘Travel for Work’ as remote and hybrid working models become the norm and corporates look for ways to bring dispersed teams together.

This new way of living and working delivers opportunities for business travel. Commuting for many is now a “new kind of business trip” as digital nomad lifestyles have become a perk some workers seek.

There’s a desire to ‘return to base’ and a necessity for collaboration, team planning and instilling a company culture.

We have all heard stories of corporations letting go of their real estate or downsizing, choosing to spend their o ice budget on team get-aways instead, appreciating that face-to-face meetings are still a necessity. There is certainly a direct correlation between a return to o ice and return to business travel, but the rules have changed.

TREND 2 People first

The pandemic put duty of care at the forefront of all employee policies.

The health, safety and wellness of all employees, especially travellers, matters more than ever. Corporates recognise the need for diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, when employees are travelling, attending a meeting or handling travel arrangements.

Travel policy and procedures have changed from a productivity and savings focus pre-pandemic, to now focusing on minimising risk. Special health considerations of travellers – and their families by extension – have now become part of the consideration of the human logistics ecosystem.

Building culture and community when o ices were closed became a new challenge – impacting employee loyalty and the great resignation as employees joined and left jobs without ever personally meeting colleagues.

Travel buyers now have a role to play in helping to recreate company culture.

TREND 3 Sustainable choices

Sustainability is now a firm fixture on the corporate agenda, contributing to company objectives, and so travel is under the spotlight.

Globally there is an urgency towards carbon neutrality.

We all recognise the need to make responsible choices that weigh up the ROI of a business meeting with the cost, time and environmental impact.

Business travel suppliers have developed tools to help travellers make the right choices.

But it doesn’t stop there; the emphasis needs to shift. As an industry we need to look at the end-to-end travel journey – all the touch points, not just air.

The GBTA recently launched a research study entitled ‘The State of Sustainability in the Global Business Travel Sector’.

The industry wide report reveals barriers to achieving more sustainable business travel, as well as the enablers for a more sustainable future.

TREND 4 Self-service is a must

The topic of corporate travel self-booking has been debated for a long time – but Logan said she had never seen everyone so eager to DIY everything and during the pandemic this trend accelerated, all in the name of e icient and contactless travel and hospitality. Examples include viewing restaurant menus via QR codes and touch-free check-in, often aided by biometrics that we as road warriors gladly sign up for to speed things up and keep us out of the longest queues anywhere along the journey. Hotels are launching apps to provide seamless travel experiences and chat functions have become widely used to communicate with the hotel concierge.

TREND 5 Digitalisation

Remote working has fuelled digital innovation and it continues to accelerate within our industry, including the endto-end business travel experience - booking, travel, expense, payments and reconciliation. Mobile device proliferation is part of this trend. There really is an app for that within our space – and business travel road warriors are among the savviest of digital users. AI advancements make everything from pricing, to booking and servicing automation options to increase accuracy and of course speed to resolution. Where cryptocurrencies take us next along the digital journey of procure-to-pay remains a bit to be seen – but suppliers and intermediaries are testing things out with several recent headlines making news.

Visit gbta.org for more information

e GBTA also found employee travel willingness had rocketed, with 94 per cent of GBTA buyers and procurement professionals believing their employees are now “willing” or “very willing’ to travel for business in the current environment.

“In fact, no respondent in any region of the world feels their employees are not willing to travel for business in the current environment,” Logan told the ATM audience.

On average, travel buyers say their company’s travel bookings are currently at 56 per cent of the pre-pandemic level, up 22 points from February, while travel suppliers say their company’s business travel bookings are at 44 per cent of the pre-pandemic level, with little change since February.