Nearly a thousand Travel Managers were surveyed in 24 countries for AirPlus, in order to answer a crucial question: what motivates or frustrates business travellers? The overall picture is initially positive: business travel is very rarely (5%) associated with frustration, while 41% of Travel Managers believe that their travellers see it as a source of motivation.
However, this starting point needs to be qualified. Firstly, because most of those surveyed (44%) spoke of an ambivalent perception, combining motivation and frustration. Secondly, because the positive image of business travel can lead to certain excesses, pushing the traveller to travel - at the company's expense - for reasons that are not necessarily relevant or legitimate... What AirPlus prefers to describe as an "orange flag rather than a red flag" is based on decision drivers such as the discovery of new countries or the level of comfort (two very strong motivations in Mexico: 97% and 93%), or the status associated with business travel, which is very noticeable in Russian business travel (65%). The other negative factor is directly linked to bleisure: 89% of Australians see business travel as a good opportunity to spend the weekend away... The French market stands out for the importance of trip preparation, with the company having to offer tools to simplify the organisation and booking of the trip.
Patience does not seem to be the main quality of French business travellers. In fact, when asked about their frustrations, French professionals - along with their Spanish, Indian and Australian counterparts - are the most resistant to waiting time (100%). This is in contrast to Chinese business travellers, who "only" 61% cite waiting time and delays as a major frustration. Overall, however, this element is ranked first in terms of negative aspects (87% on average), ahead of last-minute changes (76%) and time spent away from loved ones (72%).
