Research from Amadeus finds the majority of business travellers are happy to travel again for work this year, as long as safety measures are in place. Rose Dykins reports
A study from travel technology company Amadeus reveals 84 per cent of business travellers feel ready to take a work trip in 2021, provided certain steps are implemented to keep them safe.
In its report, “Rebuilding business travel with modern payment and expense”, Amadeus conducted the research to explore business travellers’ attitudes about travelling for work this year, and the factors that would help rebuild their confidence to do so.
Working with market research firm Opinium, Amadeus surveyed 1,400 people across France, Germany, India, Japan, Spain the US and the UK who travelled at least three times for business during 2019.
Of the respondents who took part in the research, those who travelled at least 15 times throughout 2019 were classed as “frequent travellers” – 87 per cent of them said they felt ready to travel for work again in 2021 with appropriate safety protocols.
The study found that 93 per cent of those surveyed had reduced their business trips during the pandemic by an average of 60 per cent (rising to 78 per cent for those aged over 55).
When presented with nine measures that would make them feel most confident about travelling again, frequent travellers scored each one out of ten in terms of importance. The following protocols came out as the top five:
- Covid -19 medical insurance (8.4/10)
- Up-to-date health and restriction information about a destination (8.4/10)
- Hygiene information for a hotel or an office (8.1/10)
- The ability to pay using contactless methods (8.1/10)
- Mandatory tests or vaccination certificate before boarding a plane (7.9)
“Our findings show that business travellers are ready to travel if the right safety measures are in place, which is hugely encouraging for the business travel industry,” says Rudy Daniello, executive vice-president of Corporations for Amadeus. “Whilst vaccination will take time, there are a range of steps corporations and travel companies can take now to protect and reassure travellers.”
Daniello adds: “New innovations in mobile payment and expense are coming online that allow travellers to pay contactlessly using their mobile, directly from the company bank account. This removes the need to touch payment terminals or handle paper receipts whilst expense reporting is automated in the background.
“Travellers can also access information relating to travel restrictions, Covid-19 prevalence and hygiene factors at the point of booking. While it may be difficult now, technological innovations can make travel business travel even better than it was in 2019.”