Most corporate travel policies do not address sustainable travel, and traveler satisfaction also is losing ground as a priority for travel programs, according to a BCD Travel survey of 211 travel buyers published on Wednesday.
Traveler satisfaction and well-being remains a key priority for most travel buyers in the survey, which was conducted between April 3-17, with 87 percent of buyer respondents rating it as "extremely" or "very" important in the travel program. That put it behind duty of care, savings and cost control and policy compliance in terms of importance, however. From 2021 to 2023, it was one of the top priorities, according to BCD.
Savings has "gained importance" among buyers since last year, BCD said. Nearly 60 percent of respondents said their company has reduced their travel budget over the past few years, and 96 percent said they have introduced cost controls over that period. The most frequently deployed controls aimed to reduce travel, including encouraging online meetings (80 percent of respondents) and cutting all nonessential travel (58 percent of respondents).
Environmentally sustainable travel, meanwhile, ranked at the bottom of travel program priorities in the survey, with 65 percent rating it as extremely or very important. An additional 33 percent said it was "moderately important."
Forty-five percent of respondents said they included sustainable travel in their travel policies. Nearly two-thirds of respondents, however, said sustainability would shape their policies in the future, ranking it at the top—above safety and security, technology advancements and New Distribution Capability—of future trends in the survey.
Buyers had a largely positive impression of their travel policies, with 64 percent rating their policy as "extremely" or "very effective," and an additional 29 percent saying it was "moderately effective." They were less confident on policy communication, however, with only 36 percent say they are "extremely" or "rather effective" in communicating policy news and updates. Forty-six percent said such communication was "moderately effective."
Educating travelers was the top challenge related to travel policies, selected by 63 percent of respondents, according to the survey.