Only just over one in four UK corporate travel buyers expect business travel to return to pre-pandemic levels, according to a survey by the Institute of Travel Management (ITM).
The ITM survey of 100 corporate travel buyers, managers and heads of travel in early April found just 28% of respondents expect travel to return to the level of 2019.
Two-thirds thought business travel would not recover to its former level. The survey also identified “considerable challenges” in managing corporate travel programmes “for the foreseeable future”.
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Respondents expected travel volumes to increase over the course of this year, anticipating on average that international travel would reach 45% of 2019 volumes in the second half of 2022 and domestic travel return to 56% of 2019’s level.
The buyers identified several major challenges as travel resumes, including reduced corporate travel teams and travel management company (TMC) resources, new data expectations such as reporting CO2 emissions and the return on investment (ROI) on trips, reduced budgets, and reduced supplier resources and support.
Respondents were concerned these challenges would be compounded by buyers having assumed added responsibilities over the past two years, including reporting requirements and sustainability objectives.
The survey, presented at the ITM’s first in-person conference since the start of pandemic in Birmingham yesterday (April 27), also found:
- Two thirds (66%) believed their online booking tools were ready for the return of business travel volumes but only half (48%) believed their TMC was ready.
- Three out of five buyers (61%) were not ready to agree financial or revenue targets with travel suppliers.
- Seven out of 10 (72%) said suppliers with science-based emission-reduction targets would be at an advantage in securing future travel business.
- More than one third (36%) reported that less than 10% of their organisation’s emissions are linked to business travel.
- One in four (27%) said they have initiated diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) considerations in their travel programmes.
- Half (51%) said they plan to implement programme initiatives focused on traveller wellbeing.
- Almost two thirds (63%) agreed their mental health had been impacted during the pandemic.
ITM chief executive Scott Davies said: “While business travel is gradually returning, only 28% of buyers believe it will return to pre-pandemic levels. However, the workload, responsibilities and challenges buyers face continue to run at record levels.
“A key focus will be facilitating the ‘right’ amount and type of travel, introducing the concept of travelling with purpose and aligning this with corporate fiscal and carbon reduction targets.”
He suggested: “The financial and, increasingly, the environmental costs of travel can be routinely assessed. Quantifying the human and commercial benefits of bringing people together is yet to be achieved.”
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