Travel and Expense
Business Travel Is Critical, But Many Feel It’s Unfairly Assigned To A Select Few
Over half of business travellers (58%) feel limited on travel opportunities due to their demographics
New research from SAP Concur reveals how challenges related to inclusivity and the current economic situation are impacting business travel, despite most employees (89%) asserting that the future of their career is dependent on successful business travel in the coming year.
The appetite for business travel is returning, with over two thirds (71%) of employees confirming they are very willing to travel for business in the next 12 months, an increase from 55% who were very willing to travel last year. Including those who are perhaps slightly less eager, all those surveyed were willing to travel for business over the next 12 months.
In the fifth annual 2023 SAP Concur Global Business Travel Survey, employees cited maintaining strong relationships with existing clients (40%) and establishing relationships with new clients (38%) as reasons business travel is important. However, nearly all (93%) of business travellers recognise there are threats to their company’s business travel.
Key findings from the survey include:
The economy is affecting business travel.
- An uncertain economy is impacting business travel for nearly nine in ten (88%) of employee, as over one in three (36%) view inflation as the biggest threat to business travel and 37% are impacted by reduced travel budgets.
- For nearly a third of employees (30%), the economy has led their company to require travellers to stay in lower quality accommodations and/or less safe areas.
- Travel managers also cite inflationary impacts causing increased costs for the same amount of travel (39%) as their top challenge this year.
Business travel is critical, but many feel it is unfairly assigned to a select few.
- Over half of business travellers (58%) think they haven’t always had an equal opportunity to take business trips compared to their co-workers for reasons relating to their demographics, sexual orientation, physical appearance, or health conditions.
- 26% of Gen Z business travellers say they haven’t gotten the same opportunity for business travel as others because of their age.
- 18% of women believe they received less opportunity for business travel because of their gender.
Flexible, direct booking critical to getting travellers back on the road.
- While nearly all travel managers (99%) expect their company’s travel policies will change in the next 12 months, 36% believe this will happen specifically to accommodate travellers’ needs for flexible options, such as booking directly with suppliers.
- Yet flexibility for employees in booking can collide with travel managers’ efforts to ensure safety and rein in costs: for nearly a third of travel managers (34%), travellers booking directly is one of the biggest threats to their company’s business travel.
“The business and career benefits of business travel are undeniably crucial to the success of employees and companies alike,” says Paul Dear, Regional VP of Supplier Services EMEA at SAP Concur. “Our research underscores the balancing act companies must maintain, as they identify and empathize with travellers’ needs for flexibility and their expectations regarding diversity and inclusion or sustainability – while facing the reality of company travel policy and budget constraints. Professional T&E management solutions provide a variety of options to allow for flexibility without having to compromise on visibility while also supporting the bottom line.”
You can download the reports here:
The 2023 SAP Concur Global Business Travel Survey features findings from 3,850 global business travellers across 25 markets – including UK, Germany, France, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Italy, Spain, South Africa, and Benelux in EMEA - and 700 global travel managers across seven markets (France, Germany. Hong Kong, Mexico, SEA Countries (Malaysia and Singapore), UK, and US). The research was conducted by Wakefield Research on behalf of SAP Concur between April 7th and April 28th, 2023.