Business travellers from minority groups have seen a reduction in support from their organisations over the past year, according to a survey by Business Travel Show Europe.
The survey of 192 corporate travel professionals revealed year-on-year drops in policy support for nearly every minority category, with a particularly marked drop for LGBTQ+, neurodivergent and younger travellers.
Only 20 per cent of respondents said they currently offered support to LGBTQ+ travellers, which was down from 22 per cent in 2025 and 27 per cent in 2024. Travellers from marginalised races and ethnicities also saw a fall in support from 23 per cent of organisations in 2024 to 19 per cent this year.
Meanwhile, only 14 per cent of respondents said they supported younger travellers – down from 26 per cent two years ago. It was similar story for neurodivergent travellers with support falling from 18 per cent of organisations in 2024 to 11 per cent this year. The survey also found declining levels of support for older travellers and those from Orthodox religious groups over the same period.
The number of travel managers who planned to introduce specific support for these minority groups in the future also dropped year-on-year indicating "stalled momentum" – only 3 per cent said they intended to start supporting LGBTQ+ travellers (down from 9 per cent in 2025).
The survey found that travellers with accessibility requirements remained the most supported minority group – 41 per cent of respondents had dedicated policies this year, which was up from 35 per cent last year and just below 2024’s figure of 43 per cent. Although 42 per cent of organisations still have no accessibility policies in place and only 5 per cent of respondents said they were planning to change this.
Just over one-third of companies (35 per cent) offered support for solo female travellers, which was an improvement from 29 per cent last year. Although 51 per cent of respondents said they offered no tailored support for women travelling alone.
Louis Magliaro, executive VP of The BTN Group, which organises the Business Travel Show series of global events, said the proportion of organisations with no policies in place for minority traveller groups appeared to have “risen sharply” over the past year.
“This decline comes at a time when geopolitical instability, identity‑based harassment and generational expectations are all increasing, and one would expect corporate travel programmes would be evolving faster to protect diverse workforces,” added Magliaro.
“However, we need to remember the intense pressure and scrutiny travel managers are facing beyond risk management to cut costs, make budgets work harder, assume additional responsibilities with few resources, and more.”
Business Travel Show Europe takes place on June 24-25 at Excel London – register for the show.