Things have been looking quite interesting on the corporate travel front of late. Naturally, we’d expected a few intriguing trends to crop once pandemic-led restrictions were lifted, and we have not been disappointed in the least. In fact, the ups and downs have been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride!
Let’s start with the ups. One aspect of business travel that has definitely been showing an upwards trajectory is the number of Gen Z employees who are taking to the skies and roads on behalf of their employers. According to a mid-year business travel report out of India, 43% of business travellers fell into the age group of 20 to 24, followed by 34.5% in the 25 to 30-year-old age bracket, and 18.6% between 31 and 45 of age.
Next up, the downs. re than 60% of executive-level respondents to a US-based quarterly business travel tracker survey stated that even though their larger companies are aware that reducing business travel might have long-term effects on their revenue, they will be spending less on corporate journeys over the next six months than they did in the same period in 2019. In fact, more than 50% of the companies surveyed still had travel restrictions in place.
This interesting duality in corporate travel trends has led South African and southern African businesses to weigh their options as well. To travel, or not to travel? Here are a few things to bear in mind when preparing to bring the matter of business travel to the C-suite:
1. Fuel prices impact travel costs a lot. The price of jet fuel has increased by more than 150% in the last year, which means that airfares have likewise increased between 20 - 30%. The same goes for daily car rental rates.
2. You can save money by booking in advance. You can make the most of flexible fares by booking between one and three months ahead when you are travelling domestically, and two to eight months ahead when your journey will take you across borders.
3. TMCs have the inside lane. A travel management company can save your business a lot of money thanks to specially-negotiated rates and fares which are not always publicly available.
4. Points and miles make a difference. Even if your business is very small and you travel quite infrequently, leaning into loyalty programmes can make all the difference. A seasoned TMC can help you to manage the points and admin so you can reap the benefits of the rewards.
Now you know! For more information on corporate travel in the post-pandemic space and how a travel management company can smooth the way for proper return on investment, feel free to get in touch with the TravelManor team. We are here to provide the answers to even the most complicated questions you may have in this regard.
