A new survey finds the number of companies that allow domestic travel rose by double digits as international travel jumps.
The number of companies that allow domestic business travel rose in March, international travel is returning and travel bookings are on the increase.
This according to the Global Business Travel Association’s April Business Travel Recovery survey of travel professionals, the 27th in a series of tracking polls since the pandemic began.
The poll found 86 percent of companies surveyed not allow at least some non-essential domestic business travel, up from 73 percent in GBTA’s February poll. International travel made a big jump with 74 percent reporting their company now allows it, up 26 percentage points from February.
In contrast, only one in five respondents (20 percent) report they have cancelled or suspended most or all domestic business travel, compared to 33 percent in February. International business travel continues to rebound, as less than half (45 percent) of companies surveyed said they have cancelled or suspended most or all international business trips.
That’s a 27 point improvement since February’s poll, when 71 percent said they had axed most or all of their international trips. On average, the corporate travel professionals surveyed said that, compared to their company’s spending on business travel in 2019, they expect by the end of 2022 their travel spend will be back to 59 percent of pre-pandemic levels, and will reach 79 percent by the end of 2023.
The survey of 520 corporate travel professionals found inflation concerns are leading many companies to increase their business travel spend, with 41 percent reporting an increase in spending for air travel, 34 percent for hotel stays, 33 percent for car rentals and 26 percent for ride share and taxis.
