One in ten European travel buyers believes their organisation’s
travel spend will increase compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2022, a new
survey has found.
The survey of 313 buyers, carried out for the Business
Travel Show Europe, found that while a large number of companies are predicting
budget cuts, some are bucking the trend. One quarter of companies will have up
to 25 per cent less to spend, and 39 per cent are facing budget cuts of between
26 and 50 per cent.
Some 14 per cent of buyers say they expect their spend to
get back to previous levels within two years. Overall, 27 per cent of companies
believe it will take five years for business travel as a whole to return to pre-Covid
levels.
“It’s no surprise that the pandemic has impacted business
travel spend, but it’s really encouraging that 13 per cent of buyers expect
their budgets to either increase or stay the same next year. The same can be
said for the fact that 25 per cent of buyers forecast their organisation’s
business travel will return to 80 per cent or more of pre‐pandemic levels
within the next two years,” said Louis Magliaro, executive VP, BTN Group.
“One quarter of buyers revealed they are feeling under
pressure to cut costs. With over 150 suppliers exhibiting at Business Travel
Show Europe this year, and conference sessions highlighting how to negotiate
with suppliers and more, the event will support buyers’ efforts to make budgets
work smarter in 2022 and beyond.”