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During initial Covid lockdowns in the US three years ago, hopping on a bus, train, or plane for a trip was nothing more than a fantasy for many people. In the years since, demand for leisure travel of all sorts has rebounded. The resurgence of corporate travel, however, is coming more slowly, according to a new report from Deloitte.
The report, part three of Deloitte’s 2023 corporate travel study, suggests that while business travel has been making a comeback for some time now in the US and Europe, a full recovery is likely still over a year away.
On the road again: Deloitte surveyed 334 “travel managers”—execs that oversee travel budgets in various capacities—in February and found that corporate travel spend in the US and Europe combined is on track to reach 57% of 2019 levels in the first half of this year, and reach 71% by the end of the year.
- A full recovery isn’t expected until late next year or early 2025.
- Live events could be encouraging some of that growth, rising from the fifth biggest trigger for upping travel spend last year to the top spot this year.
- International work trips might be in the cards for some, as US respondents said they expect the share of spend allocated to international travel to jump from 21% last year to 33% this year.
Roadblocks: Travel isn’t great for corporate sustainability goals. It can also be expensive, and as we all know, the economy isn’t at its best. Plus, some employees might chafe at the idea of being sent around the world for a meeting they could possibly attend via Zoom.
- One-third of US companies said they “need to reduce travel per employee by more than 20%” if they’re going to meet their sustainability targets for 2030.
- That seems possible in some cases—more than 44% of respondents rated internal trainings and team meetings as extremely low in terms of need for in-person interaction.
- Client acquisition and “client rapport building,” however, fell on the other end of that spectrum.