Is business travel still in vogue?

Travelling around the world several times in the same year, taking advantage of an unexpected tête-à-tête to develop your business, leaving your business card everywhere so that people remember you: the coronavirus paints a shadowy picture of the perfect businessman. business traveller. An unfortunate mimicry that has led to the consequences we all know about.
Business travel, brought to a screeching halt by the containmenthas lost all momentum. In large companies, which are only just recovering from this mothballing, with many employees still vacillating between returning to their sites and using the teleworkingthe message is clear. At Pernod-Ricard, while there is no formal travel ban, "travel abroad is reduced to a minimumall after approval by the hierarchyIt's a good thing we're doing this," explains Emmanuel Vouin, in the company's communications department. It's the same story at Total, where "business travel is limited to what is strictly necessary"according to the Group's press relations department, which also explained that ".internal meetings are limited in number and volume of participants, in compliance with barrier procedures."

While long-haul flights are recovering timidly, analysts are observing a light quiver travel to the plan domestic. At the beginning of August, the GBTA noted that, while almost all international travel (93 %) had been cut by US companies, travel within the US had fallen by "only" 74 %. "The outlook for business travel remains bleak, but we are seeing a few glimmers of recovery here and theresaid Dave Hilfman, Interim Executive Director of the GBTA. A greater number of companies appear to have a positive view for domestic travel, theEurope with the strongest growth in this area".

Unfortunately... This estimate dates from before the second wave of the epidemic, and the string of travel restrictions that accompanied it...".Today, everyone is sailing by sightsays Pascal Jungfer, CEO of Areka Consulting. What is certain, however, is that domestic travel will pick up first, followed by continental travel, before global trade takes off again."For this consultant, "the year 2020 should end the year with a volume of travel equivalent to a third of that seen in 2019. And for 2021This level will be between 50 % and 70 %, with many differences depending on the geographical area and economic sector.. "

The current crisis is not being experienced in the same way Whether you are a CAC 40 company, a dynamic start-up, an SME specialising in import-export or a professional in one of the most affected sectors, such as events or the arts scene. With subsidiaries in hundreds of countries, it's true that global companies can rely on their local teams to get the job done without weakening their sales force too much. "The Pernod-Ricard Group places great emphasis on autonomy, with the person closest to the market responsible for looking after it."says Emmanuel Vouin. However, for SMES who have no local networks and rely on travel to sell their products on the other side of the world, the obstacles to travel will have a real impact on their development. Just as much as cancellations and postponements of major trade fairs on which they could rely to generate a significant proportion of their sales.

Business travel will undoubtedly take off again, but on what basis? What if the current crisis were to prompt companies to ask themselves a key question? is it always necessary to travel? Used satirically for months on end, to the point where some people develop a "Zoom Fatiguethe videoconferencing solutions have demonstrated their ability to offer a credible alternative. At the beginning of June, in an interview with the daily newspaper Les Echos, Jean-Paul Agon, CEO of L'Oréal, said that for several years he had been pushing "to these virtual conferences. This crisis has made us discover, out of necessity, that this can be invaluable. Things are going to change, because we have discovered new ways of working and operating."

As a result, in search of a new balance between travel and videoconferencingthe world's number one cosmetics company believes it can reduce business travel".from 30 % to 40 %"according to its CEO. This means significant savings for the company and an improved quality of life for employees. "Apart from the CO2 aspect, travelling takes time and energy."says Pascal Jungfer.

In August, again in Les Echos, the CEO of the Accor group, Sébastien Bazin, spoke of expecting "a structural fall to around 10 %". business travel. A bad omen or a true insight? "It's a minimumsays Pascal Jungfer. There will undoubtedly be a double-digit fall in the number of trips. But that's only in relation to 2019 volumes. Because, as the global economy starts to grow again, there will be more travel in the end."

expected trade-offs between travel and the placebo of videoconferencing

"This development is not linked to the crisis, but to the effectiveness of digital tools," continues this consultant. They are calling into question the value of a trip, which is why we are seeing expected trade-offs between travel and the placebo of videoconferencing." In the hot seat are all those internal meetings that are a little routine, project reviews with fixed dates, meetings where eight people come together when two would suffice.

On the other hand, a number of trips will continue to be justified. Starting with team meetingswhere employees get to know each other, and without which the corporate culture brainstorming sessions, too, because you can't solve a complex problem via a screen; and business meetings, at least in their early stages.

"Visiting a new customer in his home town, in his factory, is obviously essential.says Pascal Jungfer. In the same way as travelling to Japan, a very formal country, for a meeting with a customer with whom you are working for the first time. It's symbolically important." As for meetings with limited stakes... A Zoom meeting will be more than enough.