Traveldoo asked its business traveller customers to share their views on the three-month transportation strike in France, and the impact that this has on their business travel plans.
More than 50 per cent of UK respondents said they had chosen to postpone or cancel their business trips to France in recent weeks, while business travellers in France shared a more positive picture, with less than 50% choosing to cancel or postpone their domestic travel.
The research showed that French business travellers, accustomed to strikes as part of their culture, continue to conduct their business relying on "luck", preferring to travel despite the possible complications, rather than cancel their trip.
More than two thirds of respondents felt informed about the strikes, having been briefed by their travel management companies or through their own personal research. This was less prominent amongst French business travellers, who perhaps due to the regularity of strikes, do not see them as such a risk to their travel plans. Either way these figures reflect an opportunity for more communication between industry players and the business traveller.
Business travel can, by definition be a source of stress; with complex itineraries, tight schedules and reliance on numerous travel suppliers. Traveldoo, a travel and expense technology company that is part of Expedia Group, wanted to find out if the strikes affected the levels of stress and fatigue for business travellers. On a scale of one to ten, business travellers rated stress levels, as a result of strikes, at seven.
Concerns had different origins: delays and long waiting times and lack of information being the main reasons for heightened anxiety and stress levels. Some travellers expressed other fears such as "My expenses may not be reimbursed" and having to "contact different providers by telephone when it is not possible to manage changes/cancellations directly online.”
The online survey was aimed at business travellers in France and the UK, and conducted during the first month of the strikes.
traveldoo.com