Return to business travel – customer survey results
- June 8, 2020
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Leading corporate travel solutions provider Corporate Travel Management (CTM) conducted a global customer survey to identify the key issues and concerns for businesses and their travellers as they prepare for a return to business travel post-COVID-19.
The survey findings reinforce the positive impact of corporate travel on business performance, and highlights how the resumption of business travel will positively contribute to economic recovery.
Key findings
Business impacts
COVID-19 travel restrictions have had a significant impact on our customers’ businesses, most significantly impacting financial performance, business growth, and customer and employee engagement, demonstrating the positive impact that business travel has on business performance.
Globally, more than 78 per cent of CTM customers surveyed said COVID-19 travel restrictions had negatively impacted business growth, 68% had experienced an impact on financial performance, and 65% cited a negative impact on customer and employee support and engagement.
The most recurring negative business impacts highlighted by our customers included:
- Projects delays / inability to reach project completion
- Inability to attract new business
- Impact on relationship building
- Inability to train new customers / employees
- Manufacturing sector: impact on product development and movement
Policy changes
Only 14% of survey respondents indicated that changes made to company travel policies in response to COVID-19 were expected to be permanent. Of those permanent policy changes, the key changes included:
- implementing additional approval measures
- incorporating specific policy measures for pandemics
Key travel concerns
Our customers indicated that their top concerns over returning to business travel were:
- Safety and well-being of travellers
- Quarantine measures
- Cost and availability of travel services
Information is key
CTM customers said government travel advice about border controls, quarantine measures and destination health advice, as well as traveller tracking and emergency communication tools, would be key to enabling a safe and effective return to business travel.
With travel restrictions expected to ease over the coming months, CTM is integrating additional data into its proprietary online booking tool, Lightning, to empower travel bookers and travellers to make better informed booking decisions.
Lightning will display features relating to:
- hygiene and cleanliness
- health screening
- passenger and crew well-being
- flexible conditions
and more for the services being booked, at the time of booking, to ensure travellers feel confident in their travel choices.
