Eurostar has reported a “robust return” for the business travel market in the first six months of 2022.
The high-speed rail service said the bounce back of corporate travel between London and Paris has been fastest among French and US companies, with the banking, luxury and consultancy sectors driving the market.
It said 75% of the pre-pandemic timetable is now running and Eurostar business travel has returned to 70% of 2019 levels, while managed corporate accounts have increased by 40% between 2019 and 2022.
A survey of 1,000 business travel customers, commissioned by Eurostar, found that 78% of them expect to travel more or the same for business between the UK and Europe than they did in 2019.
Face-to-face contact between businesses and clients is driving travel, according to 90% of those surveyed.
More than half (58%) of businesses claim that this is a more efficient way to do business, as well as supporting team morale and improving colleague and client relationships.
Francois Le Doze, chief commercial officer, said: “Business travel has resumed faster than we expected in 2022, especially considering that we are only running around three-quarters of our pre-pandemic timetable. We are confident that this trend will continue after the summer period, with September traditionally marking a busy month for corporate travel.”
The study also found a quarter of business travellers want to make up for time lost during the pandemic by extending work trips.
Furthermore, more than 20% of Eurostar’s corporate clients now mandate train travel for journeys where this is a viable option, to comply with sustainability policies.
And more than half of travellers (56%) stated that choosing sustainable travel options for work is more important now than before the pandemic.
A fourth return service on Eurostar’s London-Amsterdam route will start in September, with trains leaving London at 06:16 to better cater for the business market.
More: Eurostar gets back on track with Business Travel Association