When Could the Corporate Travel Market Recover?10.11.2020 https://www.travelmarketreport.com When Could the Corporate Travel Market Recover?by Daniel McCarthy /
When the corporate industry might recover is anyone’s guess. Some estimates, including one from consulting firm McKinsey, think it may take as long as five years for the industry to fully recover. But, despite that ambiguity, what is known is that the segment – and the travel industry as a whole – won’t fully return until consumer confidence in travel returns. And getting there will require a concerted effort by the entire industry. That’s the goal of the Global Business Travel Association’s (GBTA) “Ready. Safe. Travel.” campaign, which was officially launched on Nov. 2. The campaign focuses on mobilizing advocacy efforts to support the business travel industry, making sure that suppliers are able to make the moves needed to boost consumer and corporate confidence while spreading awareness of just how important the business travel community is for the industry. “Our opportunity at GBTA to simply have a rallying cry, kind of unity campaign because I think we all believe in the travel industry that it is time for people to get back out and get back on the road, to understand fully that it has to be done in a safe way,” Dave Hilfman, the interim director at GBTA, told Travel Market Report this week. According to consulting agency McKinsey, corporate travel can drive as much as 75% of profit for airlines, even though they account for as few as 10% of passengers. And for hotels, most importantly the convention-focused ones including some in major U.S. cities, corporate travel drives nearly their entire profit. That’s what makes corporate travel such a vital segment. “All travel is important to us in the travel industry, and we have seen the airlines have some uptick in traffic,” Hilfman said. “Business travel has been that that has been more profitable in the travel industry as people will pay for some flexibility and that drives a lot of the top line revenue for the airlines, hotels, and car rentals and, candidly, even for our partners.” Hilfman told TMR that, after a booming 2019, “the norm of 2019 is probably two to three years off if you were to look at every aspect of travel,” and in terms of the full numbers of 2019, “it would be surprising to hit those levels before 2023 or 2024.” The recovery could be uneven, Hilfman added, with business travel returning first with some combination of the virtual and in-person hybrid meetings, with some already starting, particularly those in the travel industry itself, but that’s why the GBTA’s efforts, and the efforts of others within the industry, are so critical. “That’s why we believe having a campaign that can help get everyone refocused on how important this is for the global economy and for the travel industry itself,” he said. “Businesses have seen the benefits having the employees out themselves. You have to be out and seeing your customers and colleagues. It’s so critical.” The GBTA’s campaign focuses on three initiatives—first, pushing government leaders to continue to place necessary safety measures in place (Ready); second, providing the correct resources for consumers to educate themselves on safely traveling again (Safe); and, third, telling the story of just how important business travel is to the global economy (Travel). GBTA has made a number of efforts that individuals can get involved in. Its website has a link to write a message to a member of Congress, pushing them to pass more emergency relief fund for furloughed or laid off employees. It has also made a number of other resources available, including member polls, webinars, and links to its COVID-19 travel resources page |
