Two-thirds of corporate travel teams felt adequately
prepared to deal with the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a
recent survey of 125 travel managers by global TMC BCD Travel.
Of those surveyed, only 13 per cent said they were not prepared
for the level of disruption caused by the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Forty-one per cent of respondents said all business travel
was suspended, while for the rest only essential trips are taking place. In
March, only 6 per cent of planned trips took place, more than half got
cancelled and a quarter were shifted to virtual meetings.
Looking to the future, six in ten travel managers expect
business travel to decrease, while 78 per cent expect an increase in the use of
virtual platforms for internal meetings. Fifty-seven per cent said the same
about external meetings and 49 per cent expect the frequency of virtual
conferences and events to go up.
When asked about their top priority for their travel
programmes going forward, 95 per cent cited duty of care – eight percentage
points higher than a survey conducted in January 2020.
Eight out of ten respondents expect some degree of business
travel to resume by Q3 this year, but the forecast to restore pre-pandemic
levels is more cautious; 62 per cent expect this to happen by the end of the
year, while 25 per cent think it will happen by the end of 2021 and 10 per cent
believe it could take even longer.
Mike Janssen, global chief operating officer and chief
commercial officer for BCD Travel, said: “When travel bans are lifted and
health organisation withdraw their safety warnings, corporations will need to
step in and assure travellers of their safety. Although companies will take a
fresh look at virtual collaboration strategies, travel will continue to be a
crucial component to achieve company goals. For instance, to inspect production
lines and raw materials, to teach and learn, to foster client relationships and
make deals.”
View an infographic of the full survey results here.