Half of organisations had begun travelling again by August but
with stipulations on where and how employees can make trips, according to the
latest State of the Market survey by global TMC FCM Travel Solutions and SME
specialist business travel provider Corporate Traveller. However, the level of
business travel is likely to remain low until 2023.
In a survey of 250 of FCM’s multi-national clients as well
as Corporate Traveller and Flight Centre Business Travel’s SME customers in more
than 60 countries worldwide conducted in August 2020 by FCM’s consulting arm 4th
Dimension, 50 per cent said they already had employees travelling or booking reservations
to travel in the near future.
Industries that continued to travel throughout the pandemic or
restarted trips the fastest were the mining and wholesale sectors, with nearly
80 per cent of clients having resumed travel by August, as well as businesses
in construction and food services (70 per cent have resumed travel).
However, the combined results of all three State of the
Market surveys conducted between April and August show that while 90 per cent
of a total 2,320 travel managers polled planned to allow domestic and short-haul
international trips, 7 per cent said they were unlikely to resume international
travel during 2021 and 30 per cent were not sure due to ongoing restrictions put
in place by some governments such as the UK.
The number of trips taken in the future is also likely to be
lower, with only 26 per cent of businesses planning to return to their pre-Covid-19
levels of domestic travel during 2021. The remaining 74 per cent predicted
reduced domestic travel for the year ahead. According to FCM, the number of
trips taken is likely to fall between three and four trips per person per year
until 2023, compared with the pre-crisis average of six to eight per year.
When asked which types of employees are likely to get back
on the road first, the majority of respondents said travel in the near future
will be focused on business growth, customer retention and the resumption of
projects, with those in sales, client management and project work due to be
allowed to travel. Staff in administrative and support roles are likely to see
reduced or no travel for the foreseeable future.
And the pandemic has had an effect on travel policies that
could last well into the future. Eighty-four per cent of respondents had an
active policy prior to Covid-19, but 40 per cent added an interim policy to
cover additional changes in travel. Of the companies that didn’t have a policy
in place, 20 per cent said they now have an interim programme to provide a
framework for travellers.
In a bid to tighten control on travel since the start of the
pandemic, 37 per cent of respondents said they have increased the number of
travel approvers by at least one.
Looking ahead, duty of care will be the top priority in 2021
for both large enterprise clients and SMEs (23 per cent and 29 per cent,
respectively), followed by budget (12 per cent and 15 per cent). For large enterprises,
this is then followed by looking at their online booking tool or travel
technology (10 per cent) and travel policy (9 per cent). Meanwhile, SMEs will
also prioritise travel policy (11 per cent) and approvals (9 per cent).
Seventy-four per cent of respondents said they plan to
review their hotel supply strategy for 2021, with 37 per cent evaluating health
and hygiene practices and 17 per cent planning to consolidate suppliers and
reduce leakage. Fourteen per cent will revisit pricing, 6 per cent will change suppliers
and 26 per cent said they will not make any changes to their hotel programme.
Chris Galanty, global corporate CEO at Flight Centre Travel
Group, said: “Even now, as pockets of the industry turn towards recovery, the
business travel landscape continues to shift and evolve. In preparation for a
return to some normality, businesses and suppliers are reframing their
priorities, processes and procedures. It is clear that uncertainty will remain
for some time, particularly while governments re-impose border restrictions or
quarantine periods.”
Listen to Galanty talk to BTN Europe editor-in-chief Andy Hoskins about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on FCM and Corporate Traveller's operations and the wider business travel industry.