The Dawn of a New Era in Business Travel: Forecasts for 2024 and Beyond the Pandemic
Business travel is making a comeback, but some fundamental aspects have changed. VIR member Travelport is examining how major societal changes are affecting business travel and offering solutions to address them.
Business travel is currently undergoing a massive transformation. What is driving this change? Far-reaching societal changes. Remote work has become the norm, offering employees greater well-being and a better work-life balance. Meanwhile, companies are facing an ever-changing financial landscape and new environmental challenges. At the same time, the lines between consumer and corporate trends are becoming increasingly blurred. In short, this means a host of new expectations and friction points that must be addressed in business travel.
Travelport wants to help. With the acquisition of Deem in early 2023, the company is stepping up its efforts to modernize business travel. And that starts with identifying what matters most to today’s business travelers and then using those insights to help companies and TMCs meet their needs.
Travelport has identified six key trends for the coming year. In doing so, the company drew on its own research, industry sources, and the collective experiences of its customers. Travelport has subsequently developed recommendations designed to help modernize the business travel experience and make everyone involved happier.
BUSINESS TRAVEL IS BACK. BUT WHAT HAS CHANGED?
Since the end of the pandemic, there has been much speculation about the future of business travel. However, according to the GBTA, global spending on business travel rose by 47% in 2022 to over one trillion U.S. dollars. And there are no signs that this growth is slowing down. Spending is projected to return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2024—faster than previously forecast for mid-2026.
Why is that? First and foremost, because business travel is a logistical necessity for many people, such as sales representatives, account managers, consultants, staff attending conferences and events, construction workers, and so on. For these people, being on the road is an integral part of their work, and in the most uncertain economic times, it is actually planned for even more than usual. After all, nothing is as valuable as personal contact with customers.
And what about the others? They travel because their company requires it, and they firmly believe that in-person meetings boost performance and growth. What might surprise you is that nearly nine out of ten (87%) business travelers share this view.
Nevertheless, many companies still struggle to engage their employees, partly because many of them are still working from home. The way we work has changed, and this has implications for business travel. The major challenge today is to make business travel accessible to everyone while balancing the needs of both employees and employers. There are several factors we should consider as we look toward 2024.
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