Nearly two-thirds of business travel managers believe that
‘travel returning to pre-pandemic levels is not desirable’, according to
research revealed by the ITM today at its Revive virtual conference.
The evidence that suggests business travel is encountering
an identity crisis is mounting, with speaker Kelly Beaver, manager of public
affairs at Ipsos Mori, additionally citing research that showed 65 per cent of
CEOs believe videoconferencing could mean staff will no longer need to travel
internationally in the next two to three years.
In addition, 50 per cent of CEOs believe it’s possible
videoconferencing will eradicate the need for domestic business travel, said
Beaver.
Meanwhile, 71 per cent of ITM survey respondents said client-facing meetings would not be replaced permanently by virtual alternatives.
While the adoption of videoconferencing is playing a key
role in forecasting future travel volumes, sustainability concerns and an
acceptance that there was ‘over-consumption’ of business travel have also been
aired.
Seventy-one per cent of respondents in ITM’s research said
the importance of sustainability to their organisation had grown in the last
year (compared to 37 per cent a year ago), and 64 per cent say suppliers who
have similar targets in place are likely to be at an advantage when seeking
corporate agreements.
Worryingly, however, 75 per cent of respondents in ITM’s research
did not know what percentage of their organisation’s overall emissions are
associated with business travel.
Four in ten buyers have taken on sustainability
responsibilities since Covid struck, and two-thirds say increased focus in this
area has helped them showcase the value of the travel function.
On a personal level, the proportion of travel managers
feeling the pressure to justify their role within their organisations is 36 per
cent, down from 47 per cent a year earlier.
"Although there’s no room for complacency, this is heartening to see," said Alison Rogan, ITM chair and head of travel and expense at Barclays. "This is partly because travel buyers are now often required to add expertise in reporting new metrics – focusing on risk associated with Covid and sustainability initiatives – to their list of superpowers."
The survey also indicated that buyers’ expectation of business travel recovery has been pushed back, with a quarter saying they expect business travel volumes to have reached 25 per cent of pre-pandemic levels by Q3 and 41 per cent naming Q4.
ITM's report was based on the views of 123 travel managers who were surveyed in the first two weeks of April.