bPress Release – Uniglobe Travel – July 1, 2020b
“Business travel is recovering faster in Europe then in the US”
A global survey of Uniglobe Travel's corporate clients reveals that far more European companies than American ones expect their employees to resume travel within the next 3 months. Only 32%of American companies indicated that their employees are already traveling or plan to do so within 3 months, compared to 61% of European companies. Globally, this percentage was 48.7%. The survey, conducted in June with Travel Managers from business clients, included 14 questions about how their travel policies have been adjusted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and their expectations for resuming business travel.
Changes to travel policy due to COVID-19
56% van de Europese bedrijven heeft hun huidige reisbeleid aangepast tegenover slechts 41% van Amerikaanse bedrijven. De meest voorkomende wijzigingen betreft het beperken of uitsluiten van reizen voor interne meetings (64,1%), gevolgd door het beperken van deelname aan conferenties, afhankelijk van het aantal deelnemers of de locatie (54,1%).
“When we look at the changes in travel policy, there's a clearly observable, more traveler-centric approach,” says Martin Charlwood, President & Chief Operating Officer of Uniglobe Travel International. “Aspects such as hygiene, health, and safety are considered important. Non-stop flights are preferred over connecting flights. The level of travel and accommodation costs currently seems less important. Hotel stays are strongly preferred over homestay accommodations, such as Airbnb.".
The least popular are travel policy changes that affect travelers” rights and privacy, such as mandating a liability waiver, requiring the use of a tracking app, or rules that restrict their personal activities, including staying with friends and family during a business trip.”
Sustainability priority within travel policy
Another point of focus in the research concerns sustainability within travel policy. “As companies increasingly prioritize sustainability within their travel programs, we know that sustainability combined with travel can be problematic right now,” says Cees Klinkenberg, Director of Uniglobe Travel Holland. “Many ways of eco-friendly travel, such as shared transport, are less popular at the moment due to COVID-19. Following on from this, we are seeing an increasing preference for rental cars. Positively, more than half of the companies that included sustainability in their travel policy before the coronavirus pandemic expect this policy to be expanded in the coming 18 months.”
Curious how we can support your organization with arranging your business travel, even with a stricter travel and sustainability policy? Contact us today contact with our Travel Consultants.