While business travel continues to stall in the face of the
coronavirus pandemic, there are signs that some companies are prepared to
slowly resume work trips, with half planning to allow domestic travel within
the next three months, according to a survey by the Global Business Travel
Association (GBTA).
Furthermore, one in five of the 1,708 GBTA members polled between
9-14 June said they are willing to resume all travel in the next one to three
months. There was also a small uptick in the number of companies planning to
allow essential trips (44 per cent compared to 37 per cent in the May survey).
That confidence among corporates appears to be trickling
down to suppliers too, with almost half (46 per cent) of travel suppliers and
TMCs reporting an increase in bookings in the past week. One in four said their
bookings had remained the same. Four in ten suppliers said they feel more
optimistic than they did the week before the poll (compared to 28 per cent who
felt the same in May).
Members revealed that guidelines and standards will be key
to getting employees back on the road, with the vast majority saying these will
be important for airlines (96 per cent), hotels (96 per cent), rental cars (93
per cent), ride sharing (93 per cent), taxis (92 per cent), chauffeur-driven
cars (91 per cent) and meetings and events spaces (91 per cent).
When asked about the impact of Covid-19, most respondents
said the business travel industry has experienced the worst in terms of
cancelled flights (86 per cent), hotel operations suspension (78 per cent),
layoffs or furloughs (52 per cent) and revenue impact (47 per cent). However,
one in three believe the worst is yet to come in terms of job losses and
revenue loss.
GBTA chief executive Scott Solombrino commented: “For the
first time since the start of the pandemic, supplier members are starting to
see some uplift in bookings. This positive trend is supported by the slight
increase in member companies looking to restart travel in the short term (one
to three months). To continue this trend there is strong support from GBTA
member companies who want consistent health and safety measures for every
travel vertical. This is critical, and GBTA has been lobbying intensely on
behalf of members; we have already seen great collaborative progress in the
hotel and airline sectors.”