Business travelers largely feel positive about eventually getting out on the road again in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, but the vast majority expect travel to look and feel very different than it did before the pandemic, a new study from SAP Concur found.
Conducted between May 20 and June 9, 2020, in partnership with Wakefield Research, Concur's survey canvassed 4,850 business travelers and 800 travel managers in a total of 23 markets across the globe, seeking insight into respondents' attitudes, concerns and priorities regarding the resumption of business travel.
Travelers generally had mixed feelings about the return of travel, with 39 percent reporting at least some worry about their next business trip. However, 59 percent identified at least one positive emotion associated with the prospect, with 32 percent even saying they were excited to hit the road again. Among other emotions cited by respondents were anxiousness (30 percent), relief (24 percent), encouragement (23 percent) and eagerness (20 percent).
Regardless of sentiment about the return of corporate travel, the overwhelming majority of respondents expected a "new normal" to prevail, even after official Covid-related restrictions and policies are lifted. Among travelers polled, 97 percent expected new hygiene and safety behaviors to persist for the long term. About 54 percent said they would wear facemasks during travel, while 52 percent anticipated access to hand sanitizers becoming standard. Meanwhile, 47 percent expected social distancing to become the norm and 41 percent anticipated routine temperature screenings.
Hygiene concerns also could affect travelers' booking decisions, the study found, with 29 percent of travelers prioritizing the shortest route to a destination when deciding on a flight. That sentiment among travelers could force companies to rethink the concept of lowest logical fares in the context of their travel policy to allow for more direct flights over lower cost multi-legged itineraries, Concur said.
Along with travelers, corporate travel managers also expect major post-Covid changes, the survey found. Among managers polled, 98 percent expected both short-term and long-term changes to their corporate travel policies. Managers' most widely expected new measures include mandatory personal health screenings for travelers (44 percent), mandatory travel safety trainings (43 percent) and pre-trip approval (40 percent). Managers also anticipated giving travelers more leeway in rebooking or changing travel plans quickly (38 percent) and limiting business travel to only the most critical trips (37 percent), the study found.
[Correction, July 29]: A previous version of this report incorrectly noted the number of markets involved in the survey; the correct figure is 23, not more than 30.