‘There is clearly an appetite to resume non-essential business travel and in-person meetings’
While workers may be keen to get back to business travel, government restrictions are hampering progress, according to a global survey.
More than three-quarters (77 per cent) of employers believe their employees are “very willing” or “somewhat willing” to travel for business in the current environment, according to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA).
Only 12 per cent believe employees are neither willing nor unwilling and just four per cent say workers are “not willing” or “not willing at all”.
“There is clearly an appetite to resume non-essential business travel and in-person meetings to promote collaboration, networking and business opportunities,” says Suzanne Neufang, CEO of GBTA.
Canadian HR Reporter previously spoke with an expert for answers to five key questions about business travel in the pandemic.
Business impacts
Government policies and restrictions on international travel “continue to hinder progress in pursuing activities so important to conducting business,” says Neufang. The average increase was 41.8 per cent.
Based on the survey of 618 respondents conducted in July, the impact on employers includes:
- networking (52 per cent)
- business prospecting (51 per cent)
- business planning and strategizing (50 per cent)
- sales meetings (48 per cent)
- account management (38 per cent)
- training or developing employee skillsets (28 per cent)
- recruiting (15 per cent)
HR plays an even more important role with business travel, said one expert in an interview with Canadian HR Reporter.
