It's the burning question for many business travel professionals: will virtual travel partially but permanently replace business travel in the wake of this unprecedented period? It's a question to which various studies regularly provide reassuring answers, but which are not always entirely convincing in terms of objectivity. business travel A specialist in the economics and management of air transport and aerospace, the Chaire Pégase is sending out a less optimistic message. In a new study published on 8 June, the team from Paul Chiambaretto believes that the power of virtual communication is here to stay...
Based on a survey of 548 French business travellersFirstly, the Chaire Pégase estimates that almost three out of four professionals (72%) took fewer flights in 2020 than before the crisis. And 70% of them will continue to travel less as long as restrictions are imposed. " However, once the restrictions are lifted, the fall in business passenger traffic should be 42% "add the authors of the report, who point the finger at ". the explosion in the use of videoconferencing since 2020 ". " While 16% of business travellers regularly used videoconferencing before the crisis, almost all of them have done so since. As a result, 53% of their trips were replaced by videoconferences in 2020, a rate that should fall to 51% as long as travel is limited before stabilising at 38% when all trips are possible. "According to the Chaire Pégase study.
In the long term, videoconferencing is likely to replace almost four out of ten business trips by air: a figure that will of course vary according to the reason for the trip. Logically, "in-house" meetings between two employees of the same company will be the first to be sacrificed. Training is also likely to suffer from this new balance. Conversely, notes the Chaire Pégase, " Business travellers are more likely to keep travelling when they need to interact with external stakeholders, such as in the context of canvassing or business development. trade shows ".
a saturation effect comparable to technostress
However, as this report points out, videoconferencing has shown its limitations over the past year. Admittedly, virtual conferencing has been associated with a reduction in the risk of contamination (82%) and substantial savings on the travel budget (77%) and environmental impact (76%), while offering a better balance between personal and professional life (66%). However, the authors of the report refer to a " saturation effect comparable to technostress "For 82% of those surveyed, the feeling of losing contact with colleagues (73%). What's more, from a business point of view, 64% of business travellers had fewer opportunities to achieve their objectives, and 60% of them found it more difficult to launch new projects or acquire new customers, according to the study.
Despite this, the authors of the report believe that: ". Over the long term, our figures show that around 40% of business travel by air has there is a strong likelihood that they will not be restored ". The Chaire Pégase believes that this decline in business travel in favour of virtual travel will force the business travel industry to reinvent itself. Indeed, the authors of the report point out the dependence of traditional airlines on this premium clientele, which represents 25% of passengers but accounts for 55 to 75% of profits. Paul Chiambaretto's team therefore believes that these airlines will have to rethink their business model, unlike low-cost carriers, which are less affected by this new paradigm.
