Business Travellers See Possibility of Trips but Need A Green Light from Companies
Business travellers will not hit the street again until their employers say it is safe and their respective travel policies work in changes around duty of care.
In its State of The Market study, FCM Travel Solutions and its sister concern, Corporate Traveller state that while restrictions are having the greatest impact on travel plans, according to 93% people, it’s closely followed by waiting for a green light from the company for 89%.
Business travel policies will need to adjust to ensure that travellers are safe, with 59% of respondents ranking traveller and supplier health and hygiene factors as the main concern.
Duty of care requirements are positioned second, as per to 44%, and consolidation of bookings through a travel management company was prior to 21%.
In response to this sort of feedback, TMCs are expanding duty of care services offered to clients with the launch of Traveller Hub, a repository for the most recent COVID-19 travel information.
Traveller Hub includes an interactive map highlighting high-risk areas and local rules and regulations.
A messaging service called Landbot has also been added to Traveller Hub to provide travellers with answers on pandemic-related travel questions.
Other corporate travel specialists have also developed new platforms to provide travellers and travel managers with up-to-date information.
American Express Global Business Travel has unveiled Travel Vitals which brings together information from multiple sources and enables users to search for the latest guidelines by destination, airport or supplier.
Travel Vitals, which is free to any travel manager or TMC, also feeds into digital channels used by American Express GBT’s customers, including its mobile app and online booking tools.
In late-May, TripActions launched new functionality aggregating COVID-19 travel information for companies and travellers.
For the State Of The Market study, FCM and Corporate Traveller surveyed 1,600 travel managers, bookers and travellers in May and June.
Participants were from large organisations to small and medium-sized across the world.