While travel buyers rate traveler well-being near the top of their priorities—higher than savings or policy compliance—a significant percentage also report lower levels of support from their company on enacting well-being policies, according to a BCD Travel survey of 118 travel buyers.
The survey, conducted in March, showed 92 percent of buyers said traveler satisfaction and well-being was either extremely or very important, ranking only below duty of care in terms of overall importance. More than 90 percent of buyers said that applies to both physical and mental well-being, according to the survey.
A smaller majority, 62 percent of buyer respondents, said they have support measures in place at their company to for traveler well-being. Twenty-seven percent said they did not have such measures in place, and the remaining 11 percent didn't know, BCD reported.
However, only 14 percent said their company has plans to increase its budget related to traveler well-being this year, according to the survey. Forty percent said their company had no plans to increase the budget, and the remaining 46 percent were not aware of their company's plans.
The survey also showed some differences in priorities related to well-being between travel buyers and business travelers when compared with an earlier survey conducted by BCD of 875 business travelers. While both groups rated a good hotel location, direct flights and allowing business class on long-haul flights as important to well-being, travelers were more interested in seat selection on flights and access to fast-track security programs than the freedom to decide whether to travel and an easy trip-approval process, both of which ranked higher with buyers. Travel buyers also rated mental support measures such as stress management and mental health counseling as more important than physical support measures, such as restaurant recommendations and gym memberships, while travelers ranked the physical support measures as more important than the mental ones, according to the survey.