During the Covid-19 pandemic, there have been huge transformations in the way that we travel. Alongside this, innovations in technology and the rise of remote work have also drastically changed corporate travel.
And despite a slower return than leisure travel, business travel is on the road to recovery.
But, with many companies now moving towards fully remote or hybrid work models, what will the future look like?
Read on to find out.
What is Corporate Travel?
Revfine defines corporate travel as “travel that is carried out on behalf of a business, or for the purposes of doing business with someone else. The term applies regardless of how frequent the travel is, or how far away from the day-to-day workplace it takes the traveller(s).”
Like leisure travel, corporate trips saw a huge downturn during 2020 and going into 2021 due to the effects of the pandemic. But now, we are seeing many global events and conferences happening again.
According to Deloitte, business travel is set to see a steady rise this year. And while technology such as Zoom effectively replaced corporate meetings during the pandemic, in-person communication is still unparalleled.
Some examples include:
- Visiting a different branch of the company
- Meetings with clients or suppliers
- Conferences & events
- Trade fairs & exhibitions
- Company retreats
- Attending a course
What type of Companies use Corporate Travel?
Corporate travel is not limited to a specific type of business, industry, location or size of company, and corporate trips can be both international or domestic.
The Future of Corporate Travel
Skift explains that business travel is set to change from simply being a transactional tool to a transformational one.
Although many companies are now opting for fully remote or hybrid work models, travelling to meet internally or externally will be important in order to create and maintain a company culture.
The pandemic has also led to us realising the power of in-person communication. We believe that going forward, corporate travel and remote work can go hand in hand.
Online meetings as well as sustainability and financial issues may result in companies taking less frequent but longer and more meaningful corporate trips.
Travelling for hours on an aeroplane for one meeting is no longer necessary, and companies are now more likely to fit multiple meetings or events into one trip.
And, as many businesses now have employees based in different parts of the world, corporate travel can be used as a tool to bring these teams together and to connect and collaborate with them.
According to Forbes, a new trend in business travel is an increase in “return to base” trips. While in the past, employees based in one office would travel to do business in other cities, remote workers now travel to visit their company headquarters or join corporate retreats.
And, as we talked about in The Future of Travel, there has been a huge increase in mixed or ‘bleisure’ trips, i.e, a mixture of business and leisure, with employees making the most out of their business trips by extending them to enjoy leisure time.
Travel Agents
Travel agents, or travel management companies, assist businesses in planning and booking their corporate trips.
For multiple employees, travel agents usually take care of all business travel arrangements, from accommodation and transport to activities.
Companies can gain many benefits by hiring an external travel agent to take care of corporate bookings.
- Reduce costs
- Efficient time management
- Offer the best deals & prices
- Take away stress & hassle
- Ensure employee safety & wellbeing
- Consider sustainability practices
Corporate Travel in 2023
Despite the clear recovery of the sector it is hard to imagine will ever reach the numbers we witnessed during the pre-pandemic.
The truth is that the market doesn’t seem to be confident about the complete return of corporate travel, with only 17% of travel managers stating that 2022 will be the year for a full recovery.
With a lot of events still taking place online and growing concerns about sustainability being at the centre of discussion, it is clear that partnership-building and networking will still be looked upon with some care from the companies’ side.
Should your Travel Brand enter this niche?
Despite the current challenges in the market, there are also many opportunities. We believe that corporate travel is here to stay, and travel brands looking to enter the corporate niche should consider how their experience can assist businesses, how they can adapt to changes in the industry and how they can offer a more unique and efficient experience.
How to Prepare and Sell Corporate Travel
Nezasa’s TripBuilder software assists travel agencies to plan, prepare and sell corporate trips to their customers. Our easy-to-use online platform allows travel brands to create highly-personalisable and flexible itineraries, offering a wide variety of elements such as accommodation, transport and excursions.
And to transform multi-stop corporate trips, TripOptimizer is the right tool to create optimised flight routes and allow companies to combine multiple business trips into one booking.
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