Business travel is still a catalyst for global economic development despite the growth of video conferencing and other tools, a poll by the World Travel & Tourism Council has concluded.
The WTTC survey found that 50% of prospects became new customers when an in-person meeting took place, compared with only 31% without. Results were gleaned from 500 business travellers who were questioned in the UK, US, Germany, Brazil and China.
Chinese business travellers indicated the highest jump in conversion following a face to face meeting, which leapt 24 percentage points to 57%, while UK travellers said their chances of closing a deal rose from 30% to 45%.
The report warns that cutting back on business travel “poses significant risks”. On average, the respondents said 38% of their current customers would switch to a competitor without in-person meetings, with each country’s own estimate being within a few percentage points of this.
Globally, 70% of respondents felt business travel was extremely or very important to innovation and to increase productivity and efficiency.
The report concludes: “Representative surveys across five diverse countries illustrate a consistent view that travel yields benefits in terms of sales, customer retention, partnerships, innovation and human capital.
“These perspectives are substantiated by statistical and econometric analyses which indicate an average business travel return on investment to sales of 10:1.”