More than half (54 per cent) of companies are considering
resuming all business travel in the near future, though they do not currently
have definitive plans for restarting trips, according to the latest coronavirus
survey by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), which took place
between 13-15 May.
Of those with plans in place to get employees back on the
road soon, one in four want to resume travel to the US (28 per cent) and Canada
(24 per cent). Meanwhile, four in ten are considering restarting trips to the
US (44 per cent), Europe (43 per cent) and Canada (41 per cent) but do not have
definitive plans for when this will happen.
GBTA said its members appear to be taking a strategic
approach to the resumption of domestic business travel, with 35 per cent of
those in the US saying they will return to some states or regions but will
continue to limit trips to other areas. Four in ten (43 per cent) said they will
wait until they feel comfortable resuming domestic travel anywhere in the US.
Thirty-six per cent of those outside the US said the same, while half said
their company will wait until they feel comfortable resuming business domestic
travel.
While 62 per cent of those polled believe most or some
employees will be willing to travel after restrictions are lifted, the survey
reveals travel managers will be looking to their suppliers to reassure
travellers. Nearly half (48 per cent) said they feel they have enough
information about suppliers’ cleaning and sanitation practices, while 36 per
cent would like more. However, only 32 per cent of companies based in Europe
said they feel they have received enough information about suppliers’
protocols.
When it comes to hotels, 80 per cent of companies will
expect increased cleaning standards to exceed current protocols, while 55 per
cent want staff to be required to wear facemasks and 53 per cent would like hotel
staff to receive additional training about Covid-19 sanitary practices and incident
reporting. Forty-four per cent would like to receive increased communication
about hotels’ sanitisation procedures, 43 per cent would prefer guests to be
required to wear face coverings in common areas and 43 per cent want properties
to enforce social distancing guidelines.
They will also expect ground transportation providers to increase
cleaning protocols (70 per cent), provide hand sanitiser and disinfectant wipes
to passengers (68 per cent), require drivers to wear masks and gloves (58 per
cent), install a partition to separate the passenger from the driver (52 per
cent) and train drivers about sanitary practices (43 per cent).
For airlines, travel managers will be looking for increased
cleaning standards to ensure every traveller touchpoint is sanitised before
each flight (76 per cent), requiring passengers to wear face masks (60 per
cent), requiring employees to wear facemasks and gloves (52 per cent) and for
carriers to provide all passengers with hand sanitiser and disinfectant wipes
(47 per cent).
Controversially, 59 per cent of respondents said they want
airlines to leave middle seats empty on flights – something IATA claims is not
financially viable or effective.
GBTA chief executive Scott Solombrino commented: “People
aren’t going to travel until they feel safe. Our member companies want to see
several health and safety steps taken at every stage of the travel process –
from ground transportation to airlines to hotels. As restrictions across the
globe begin to lift, small green shoots of optimism are sprouting in the
industry… That is a positive, albeit small, sign that we are finally headed in
the right direction.”