Respondents pointed to the growing need for the corporate travel industry to adapt its service offering to new workforce realities, such as remote and blended working arrangements, while embracing technology to capitalise on and drive continuous recovery. The key findings are as follows:
The majority of corporate travel agencies (84%) have changed their business professionals as a result of the pandemic, and are now focused on optimising costs and efficiency, while meeting customer and business demands with fewer employees.
Four-fifths of respondents have adopted new technology solutions to manage Covid-19-related risk in the past two years. Of those who have not, 42% plan to do so in the next two years. The most popular solutions are travel risk management tools, automated workflows and virtual payment tools.
Half of the agents said the rise of internal corporate travel, to bring remote workers together, will create opportunities for recovery, while 45% said emerging corporate travel markets are important for growth.
There is strong optimism in the market, with 82% saying they expect to return to pre-pandemic levels of corporate travel, and 15% expecting a bigger boom than pre-Covid-19, in the next 12 months.
More than two-thirds of respondents have seen an increase in bookings in the three months to August. The majority of respondents say the increase is no more than 30%, but a remarkable 14% report an increase of more than 50%. 55% say the company's Covid-19 related travel restrictions are decreasing, and 38% say total travel spend is increasing.
Cost remains a key consideration. More than two-thirds have seen a moderate or significant increase in bookings with low-cost carriers. This trend is most prevalent in North Asia, where there has been a 42% shift from low-cost to low-cost carriers.
Corporate travellers prioritise information, flexibility and hygiene. However, companies are also paying attention to sustainability as one of the top priorities for customising corporate travel.
Sabre's own booking data shows that corporate travel is making a strong comeback," said Brett Thorstad, Sabre's Vice President of Travel Solutions, Agency Sales, "so it's encouraging to see those same results confirmed among our travel agency partners through our new research."
"However, while business travel is rebounding, what is clear is that it is doing so in a different way," added Mr Thorstad. "It is important as an industry that we understand these changes, and the reasons behind them, and that we are prepared to drive our own evolution, supported by robust technology. In this way, we can drive revenue growth and efficiencies across the travel ecosystem, while ensuring that corporate travel agencies are in the best position to create the frictionless and tailored experiences that business travellers want and expect."
