Most corporate travel policies do not address sustainable travel, and traveller satisfaction also is losing ground as a priority for travel programmes, according to a recent BCD Travel survey of 211 global travel buyers – 42 per cent of which are based in EMEA.
Traveller satisfaction and wellbeing remains a key priority for most travel buyers in the survey, which was conducted between 3-17 April, with 87 per cent of buyer respondents rating it as "extremely" or "very" important in the travel programme. That put it behind duty of care, savings and cost control and policy compliance in terms of importance, however. From 2021 to 2023, it was one of the top priorities, according to BCD.
Savings has "gained importance" among buyers since last year, BCD said. Nearly 60 per cent of respondents said their company has reduced their travel budget over the past few years, and 96 per cent said they have introduced cost controls over that period.
The most frequently deployed controls aimed to reduce travel, including encouraging online meetings (80 per cent of respondents) and cutting all non-essential travel (58 per cent of respondents).
Environmentally sustainable travel, meanwhile, ranked at the bottom of travel programme priorities in the survey, with 65 per cent rating it as “extremely" or "very important”. An additional 33 per cent said it was "moderately important."
Forty-five per cent of respondents said they included sustainable travel in their travel policies. Nearly two-thirds of respondents, however, said sustainability would shape their policies in the future, ranking it at the top — above safety and security, technology advancements and New Distribution Capability — of future trends in the survey.
Buyers had a largely positive impression of their travel policies, with 64 per cent rating their policy as "extremely" or "very effective," and an additional 29 per cent saying it was "moderately effective."
They were less confident on policy communication, however, with only 36 per cent saying they are "extremely" or "rather effective" in communicating policy news and updates. Forty-six per cent said such communication was "moderately effective."
Educating travellers was the top challenge related to travel policies, selected by 63 per cent of respondents, according to the survey.