Is Business Travel About to Stall?
After virtually disappearing in early 2020, business travelers are again booking trips to meetings, conferences, and events. Global business travel was a $1.4 trillion industry in 2019 – but conflicting factors have experts guessing at how long it will take for business travel to return to that level. Currently, the Global Business Travel Association projects business travel spending of just over $900 billion in 2022 – $500 billion less than in 2019. For a detailed analysis, see this article in Skift.
What is Driving the Conversation?
Companies want to put employees – and especially their sales teams – back on the road, but inflation and a possible recession have led major firms like Google and Microsoft to announce sweeping travel restrictions in an effort to cut costs and protect earnings. That said, not all companies are taking the cost-cutting path. Aviation data company Arc reports that business travel is already at about 70% of where it was in 2019—and continues to climb.
Questions DCA Members are Asking:
- How can we identify and appeal to companies that are still investing in business travel?
- If a company’s travel is limited to “business critical” trips, what does the remaining travel spend look like? (For example, does the “business-critical” restriction increase or decrease the Las Vegas share of wallet? Does it impact international travel? Will it lead to trade-offs that increase any areas of travel spend?)
- Will companies use their travel policies as part of their effort to attract and retain talent?
- Will virtual teams spend money to gather in person, and what will those expenditures look like?
Related DCA Resource:
Commerce Code Episode 124: The 2022 Travel Rollercoaster – Talking Consumers & Offers