International train operator Eurostar has seen a “robust” recovery in business travel as bookings reached 70 per cent of pre-Covid levels in May and June.
The company said that business travel had returned “faster than expected” during the first six months of 2022, even though Eurostar is only running at 75 per cent of its pre-pandemic timetable between the UK and continental Europe.
Francois Le Doze, Eurostar’s chief commercial officer, added: “We are confident that this trend will continue after the summer period, with September traditionally marking a busy month for corporate travel.”
Eurostar also released the results of a survey which found that 78 per cent of corporate travellers were expecting to take either more or the same number of business trips between the UK and Europe as they did in 2019.
The recovery in business demand for Eurostar’s London-Paris services has been fastest among French and US firms, especially for sectors such as banking, luxury and consultancy.
Bookings from managed corporate accounts for Eurostar have also increased by 40 per cent between 2019 and 2022.
The train operator said that more than 20 per cent of corporate clients were now mandating train travel where it was a practical option because it was a more sustainable form of transport.
More than half of travellers (56 per cent) also stated that choosing more sustainable travel options for work trips was more important than it had been pre-Covid.