The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) has released the results of its latest research poll, which indicates that while Covid-19 is no longer as big of an issue as it once was, some new challenges have arisen that are impacting employee travel.
Business travel has continued to make a strong recovery overall, with most of the global travel managers who took part in the survey reporting that their companies are once again allowing domestic (89 percent) and international (78 percent) travel. Notably, conference attendance is also stronger than it was in 2019 — spending for conferences as a share of overall business travel spend is expected to be up four percentage points this year compared to 2019.
Travel suppliers are also feeling good about the way things are headed — 88 percent reporting feeling more optimistic about the path to recovery than last month. In addition, 84 percent reported that their bookings have increased compared to the previous month.
However, organizations and employees are now also increasingly concerned about current affairs and the economy, which is somewhat hampering the ongoing recovery of global business travel. Covid is no longer the top concern for travel managers — although it’s still up there — with 38 percent buyers citing it as an issue.
Government policies and restrictions topped the list at 43 percent, while another 33 percent noted staffing shortages as having a significant impact on their travel programs. The remaining top issues were supply chain bottlenecks, inflation, and oil prices.
On the supplier side, the main issues currently being grappled with are staffing shortages (51 percent) and inflation (37 percent). Government restrictions and Covid infection rates were tied for third, followed by oil prices, risk of recession, and increased wage demands.
“As COVID-19 becomes more manageable in many regions, companies and employees are getting back to traveling for business, fueled by the need to get back to business,” said Suzanne Neufang, CEO of GBTA. “We are now seeing, however, other factors beyond COVID-19 coming into play that could affect the speed and trajectory of recovery for business travel as we head into the second half of 2022.”
The global situation remains complex and uncertain, and organizations will need to continue to adapt accordingly, which includes flexible travel policies. Some employees are still concerned about traveling due to Covid risks, and companies are addressing this in different ways. 65 percent of the companies included in the survey noted that they have an opt-out process for those who are not yet ready to travel, some of which have no restrictions. Others are addressed on a case-by-case basis, and a minority allow exceptions for certain health conditions.
Next month’s survey should reveal even more interesting data on the recovery of business travel as it will be the first report since the US lifted the predeparture testing requirement for international travelers.