Business travel took a serious hit during the pandemic, almost bringing it to a stop. But now with Covid-19 cases dropping, will corporate travelling return to pre-pandemic state? Or a more straightforward question, what’s the future of business travel post Covid-19? Let’s check it out.
Steady Growth in Domestic Air Travel
Before looking at anything else for business travel, let’s understand how domestic business trips will be impacted. Why? Because domestic travels would help most of the local businesses around the world.
The top 20 markets of domestic air travel, Asia-Pacific regions saw a surge in demand for domestic air travel in July’20, according to Cirium. Why so? Because domestic travels cost lower than international travels, ticket availability, higher safety, restrictions of international travels & dramatically decreased risk of getting infected.
A Decrease In International Air Travels
International air travels will see slower growth owing to greater risks, higher rates of cancellation, international policies limiting travelling, etc. We saw how some airlines downsized & cut down on flight times. Even with international air travel starting, there are a few flights & more importantly, lesser direct flights.
This creates tonnes of issues for people willing to make corporate trips. Such as longer transit waiting periods, higher risk of cancellation of connecting flights, overnight international policies prohibiting entering a connecting country, etc.
But surely international air travel will return back to normal but just slowly, and jet lag would be another thing for you to worry about – so have jet lag exercises ready as a remedy.
Love for Train Travel Coming To Life; Car Rental Increasing
Countries around the world are standing up on their feet again and car rental & train travel are garnering the highest interest. Why? Because it keeps travelers safe from crowds & other risks related to air travel.
Corporate travelers can easily ensure the rental car is thoroughly sanitised & cleaned, therefore, putting the risk at bay. This allows the travelers safe & comfortable passage for a few days. And travelers would love getting their own rental instead of sharing, a huge shift from the previous preference of sharing the ride.
The pandemic has also revived the love of traveling through the railways. Did you know? Many corporate travelers in Europe are willing to swap business trips through planes with trains, especially the individual sleeper cabins. This is a huge shift in business travel. Moreover, the rail network connects various prime locations throughout the continent.
Duty of Care – More Important Now
Many business travelers trust their travel managers to take care of most travel related stuff. Therefore, travel managers should remain ready with a robust duty of care program, utilizing advanced technology & best practices to offer the safest journey to the travelers.
This includes various things such as evaluating the risk factors involved in making the business trips, understanding the travelers physical as well as mental health. Additionally, it includes other travel-related things such as different bookings, emergency contact info, etc.
Overall, the travel manager should keep a high-level knowledge of everything the traveler is expecting & will be doing. Right from the traveler’s exact location, to accommodation, to traveling needs – everything needs to be managed efficiently.
With this, business travel post Covid-19 can be expected to grow.
New Travel Documents Needed Post COVID-19
With new variants of Covid-19 emerging regularly and predictions of third-wave in many nations, international traveling may observe new requirements. Why? Because recovery rates in different nations will differ and hence, different nations will have different policies on permitting passengers.
This will require certain medical certificates to confirm the passengers are free from virus. However, now most people are vaccinated, vaccination certificates will also help with the process.
Travel Insurance -No is Not an Option Anymore
Well, travel insurance is an important instrument to ensure even if something happens during your business trip, you and/or your family will be financially supported. However, many of us used to skip this in the past but now it has become like a necessity to ensure more safety.
Why? Well, due to different guidelines of entering different nations, which may change according to the change in situation, leaves many passengers with no flights. And with non-refundable tickets, and an already booked trip along with booked accommodations, can put a serious dent in the wallet.
Therefore, it is now more important than ever to buy travel insurance. Well, who wouldn’t love to get all their hard-earned money back which they invested in the trip, even if it’s a corporation.
And as we see business travel coming back to life, we will notice how people are becoming more aware about well-thought-out business travel.
This article was brought to you by Redwood Creative, Inc., a creative online marketing agency.
For more information on how travel is changing for a greener future, please see the resource below.
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