For the past few years, we have seen a decline in travel because of the pandemic and all its collateral effects. It may be tempting to think that with the increase in the digital nature of the world and people being more online corporate travel might have become irrelevant in this digital age. However, this is not the case. Tendencies show that corporate travel is reappearing bigger because people still require physical human connection and all its advantages. Hence the comeback of corporate travel is inevitable. That’s why, as a business owner, you must be a visionary and ensure that you hire a corporate travel agent because as the travel industry makes its comeback, you want to be ahead of the game. Hopefully, by the time you finish reading this article, you will be able to see why the time to take advantage of this opportunity in the travel industry is now.
Online Meetings Take Over
Over the past years, starting in 2020, statistics showed that corporate travel and general travel took a huge knock. In 2022, however, due to the progress made to combat the pandemic, there is finally light at the end of the tunnel. This means that as the years continue to go by, corporate travelers and business travelers are going to be on the rise again.
In 2020, total global business travel expenses decreased by 52 percent, while corporate travel and related expenses in the United States plummeted by 71 percent. While these statistics are unfortunate, worldwide travel is on the rise again. It hasn’t reached its peak yet, so it is understandable why certain business owners and companies might be reluctant to take the plunge back into corporate travel.
However, it is possible to chart a safe and effective roadmap for your company as one explores the future of corporate travel and all that it entails. Part of this process would include reaching out to the key players in the industry including airlines, hotels, car rental companies, and corporate travel planners and their intermediaries such as travel agents.
Some of the skills you need for successful business travel include planning with agility, communicating with clarity, leveraging data in real-time to inform your business decisions, and aiming for improved comfort and convenience for your business traveler.
The Comeback of Corporate Travel
One way of ensuring this process happens as it should is for businesses to use TTS Corporate. It is a corporate booking solution with no implementation or booking costs, and it provides a fast booking flow which is simple for travel agencies to use and also for your business traveler.
Fortunately, TTS Corporate supports all Travelport GDSs including Apollo, Galileo, and Worldspan.
When it comes to hiring travel agencies and investing in TTS, in this climate, some businesses may be reluctant to do either one and while that seems reasonable right now, it is important to know that these agencies are uniquely situated to provide the relevant data in order to help businesses make informed decisions about corporate travel. With the help of these data markers, businesses can get ahead of the game and in the long run save a lot of money and resources. For example, corporate travel agencies will notice the fluctuations and availability of ticket prices and flight schedules, which can help your employees in booking really good deals on travel related things like hotels and transportation at better prices without compromising on convenience.
With TTS Corporate, your travel manager will be able to customize and tailor the tool for each employee. This will save your business money as either the travel manager or a corporate travel agency can activate specific content and features specific to your company.
The digital world
The world is fast becoming digital, mostly because the pandemic has accelerated the previous trivial changes that would have unfolded over a longer period pre-COVID-19. Additionally, because of the acceleration due to COVID-19, these changes were quickly adapted to and many have found them to be a much easier and better way of life. As such, many of them have become irreversible.
One great example of the easiest way of life is with jobs and employees. Many employers have found that their employees are reluctant to come back to their 9-5 in-office jobs because working from home is so much more convenient. Some employers conduct interviews online and even have meetings online, which saves employers and employees a lot of money due to travel and other related expenses.
Additionally, some employers are not even having to rent office space because their employees now work from home. Employers do not necessarily have to hire somebody in the same country when they can hire an employee at a lower rate internationally because working from home has now become an option.
The advantages of in-person contact in business
With all these seeming advantages of the digital world, it may be easy to miss the advantages of personal contact. However, when surveying employees, the growing complaint is the lack of the much-needed personal physical contact that was previously available.
Some of these advantages include team building and emotional connections because digital meetings can’t replace the in-person ability to connect.
Emotional relationships are incredibly for building and developing loyalty. This is especially true for new employees who may not have worked previously with fellow employees and do not have any reason to engage in team building online. According to Forbes, 84% of executives prefer in-person meetings strictly because it allows people to build stronger and more meaningful business relationships.
Another enormous advantage is that distractions and interruptions can be limited and decreased with in-person meetings. While working from home, employees can be distracted by streaming services, home commitments, and other things like poor internet connections. Those interruptions can have a significant impact while on important business meetings, so In-person meetings eliminate these types of distractions.
Business travel is making a huge comeback!
Although there are some advantages in the corporate world to living in the digital age, the future seems likely to bring back in-person work and corporate travel. Therefore, businesses need to recognize this and take advantage of it. Whether corporate travel is still relevant, the answer is a resounding YES!
Article by Kathy Jackson, Account Manager @ TTS
