Two-thirds of U.K. companies plan to increase spending on business travel by at least 50 percent over the next year, according to research from corporate card company American Express.
A survey of business leaders and travelers also found that 42 percent of small and medium-sized enterprises were looking to take more business trips in the next 12 months. Opinium on behalf of American Express from July 25-29 surveyed in the U.K. 500 business travelers and 500 senior business travel decision makers from SMEs and larger companies.
More than 80 percent of companies believed that travel played a key role in increasing revenue, with 60 percent planning to expand around the U.K. and 35 percent wanting to enter new international markets.
Part of the increase in travel is coming from the need to connect remote teams following the pandemic, with 73 percent indicating this was now a major reason for business travel and one-fifth already doing more to bring their teams together.
Other trends included the rise of “bleisure” travel post-Covid, with 31 percent of employees bringing their partner or a family member on a business trip.
Most companies (79 percent) also have increased their focus on traveler well-being when on the road, which is just as well because this is becoming more important for employees—71 percent said they would leave their job if their employer did not prioritize their well-being during trips.
Sustainability is becoming a bigger issue for travelers, with 71 percent worrying about the environmental impact of their trips and 78 percent becoming more conscious of their carbon footprint when on the road. Around one-third of companies would like their business travel to be “greener” but are not sure how to achieve this.
American Express, vice president of corporate U.K. card services Hana Lear in a statement said: “Businesses had no choice but to press pause on a lot of travel over the last two years and lean on virtual alternatives to build relationships with customers and colleagues.
“Our research shows that business travel and the value of in-person connections in driving growth go hand in hand.
“However, there’s clearly a renewed focus on the entire business travel experience to ensure both companies and employees maximize the value of trips.”
Originally published by BTN Europe.
Rob Gill
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