More than 800 business travel professionals responded to the appeal launched last October by the GBTA (Global Business Travel Association). All of these testimonies now make it possible to "take the temperature" of the market, with the aim of returning to the volumes of travel that prevailed before the health crisis. The GBTA is quick to point out in its report that "business travel has largely - but not completely - recovered". On a scale of 1 to 10, 84% rate this level of recovery as at least a 7. In 43% of cases - and even 45% in Europe - the rating even reaches 9/10.
The resumption of domestic business travel seems to be slowing down, if we compare the figures from this study with the previous survey carried out by the GBTA in April last. Travel managers estimate that domestic travel is at 76 % of the pre-pandemic level. This represents a relatively small increase on April (72%). In almost one in five cases, however, domestic travel would now exceed 2019 figures.
The international business travel 70% of pre-pandemic volumes, and 77% if we take the expenditure angle. The trend is the same on both sides of the Atlantic, with Europe and North America posting the same average (69%).
So what are the brakes to remove to complete this return to normality? Unsurprisingly, the obstacle is no longer sanitary but economic. The report GBTA believes that travel budgets are finding it difficult to keep pace with price increases (69%). The economic context, and the uncertainties generated by inflation, are also a major brake (63%). And if the financial argument wasn't enough, the geopolitical context (44%) isn't particularly reassuring for anyone planning to travel internationally...
Conversely, concerns about pandemic went off the radar (6%), while theenvironmental impact is beginning to be seen as a significant brake (22%). On this point, a regional approach reveals particularly marked disparities. In Europe, 54% of travel managers see environmental impact as a real barrier12% in North America. And fear of the geopolitical context is particularly marked in Asia (72%).
Finally, the use of business travel and videoconferencing also reveals strong regional differences. Europe stands out in particular for the importance it attaches to virtual meetingsmore pronounced than elsewhere in the world. Above all, employees on the Old Continent now seem more reticent about the idea of criss-crossing the planet for work. While Asia-Pacific's desire to travel is more pronounced than ever, Europeans are the most inclined to demand a more sedentary lifestyle, according to GBTA.
Other key trends in this comprehensive report include a greater appetite among travellers for direct flights to the detriment of routes with stopovers, and the adoption of a hybrid work mode. The all-office and the all-virtual are seen back to back (15% and 16% respectively), with companies having adopted a compromise between the two (68%). At EuropeAccording to the GBTA, the hybrid format even concerns 80%.
