Matt Goss, managing director, SAP Concur Australia and New Zealand, said, “The return to business travel as it was pre-COVID-19 will take a long time. As restrictions ease, and employees and customers seek face-to-face meetings, there will be a gradual increase in business travel. Those who are required to travel, such as members of the C-suite, salespeople, and essential workers will be among the early adopters.
“With the nature of travel changed, employers will have more duty of care for their travelling employees. Likewise, employees expect long-term changes to business travel in the post-COVID-19 environment.”
SAP Concur’s recent 2020 Global Traveller Report found that 96 per cent of ANZ business travellers expected the widespread use of hand sanitisers, travel-enforced social distancing, and alternative touchless greetings for handshakes.1 Additionally, 97 per cent of travellers wanted their organisations to adopt measures such as personal health screenings and real-time updates on travel risks.2
SAP Concur has identified three business travel trends that will emerge in 2021:
1. 2021 will be the era of responsible travel
The SAP Concur report showed that 28 per cent of ANZ business travellers felt worried about resuming travel once restrictions were lifted.3 To normalise business travel again, a coalition across the industry will need to work to regain the trust of customers, showing that travel can be safe when appropriate measures are taken.
Travel providers, including hotels, airlines, rail providers, ridesharing, and car rental services, may require travellers to disclose their COVID-19 health status until a vaccine is available and widely adopted. This could range from COVID-19 or antibody test results, including rapid testing right at the gate or during rental car pick-up, to proof of vaccination once it is broadly available. Some travel providers, such as Qantas, are already taking such measures by announcing that compulsory vaccination will be required for overseas flights.
Mid-to-late in the year, the experiences of early adopters, measured by low infection rates, will then influence the broader base of travellers.
2. Businesses will raise the bar on health precautions.
As border policies change with the rise and fall of regional COVID-19 case numbers, companies will require employees to comply with government guidelines such as quarantine requirements before and after trips. More mainstream mask requirements are also a possibility, with travellers proving compliance through documentation throughout the trip that they have complied with mask mandates.
These protocols will address top travel concerns from employees, including infecting their families (55 per cent) and getting sick themselves (53 per cent) during a business trip.4 With travellers able to practice the health and safety habits they’ve adopted in their daily lives, business travel will feel more comfortable for employees and therefore feasible in 2021.
3. Sustainability will be the table stakes
Managing health and safety isn’t the only indicator of responsible travel that will lure travellers back. New environmental research compels companies to use the temporary pause in travel to add new environmentally sustainable practices to their corporate travel programs.
For example, Microsoft has purchased sustainable aviation fuel to reduce pollution from commercial flights to the destinations most visited by its employees.5 These efforts will inspire the 69 per cent of travellers who ranked sustainability as important to them to feel more comfortable and optimistic about returning to travel.
Matt Goss said, “Business travel is a potential source of stress for employees. To keep employees happy and productive while travelling, it’s important for organisations to listen to their employees and invest in solutions their travellers want. This includes implementing measures that employees see as necessary when travel resumes, including improved traveller safety information, requiring pre-trip approval, and a greater ability to change travel plans quickly. To further reduce employee anxiety, a single user interface that provides all required information will benefit organisations.”
References
1 https://www.concur.com.au/resource-centre/whitepapers/global-travel-manager-report-2020
2 https://www.concur.com.au/resource-centre/whitepapers/global-travel-manager-report-2020
3 https://www.concur.com.au/resource-centre/whitepapers/global-travel-manager-report-2020
4 https://www.concur.com.au/resource-centre/whitepapers/global-travel-manager-report-2020
5 https://news.microsoft.com/2020/10/22/alaska-airlines-and-microsoft-sign-partnership-to-reduce-carbon-emissions-with-flights-powered-by-sustainable-aviation-fuel-in-key-routes/
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