Marketing • Aug 16, 2023
The Future of Corporate Travel: 2024 Trends and Developments
Leisure travel in the US and Europe has largely returned to pre-COVID levels. However, corporate travel has been slower to bounce back as decisions about business trips involve multiple factors, such as traveler safety, customer interest, and the value of attending events in a hybrid capacity.
In the latter half of 2022, the world saw a mix of positive and negative economic signals and a growing concern about a recession and layoffs in the tech sector. Moreover, issues in the banking sector compounded financial problems. The future of business travel was unclear. Now, the fog is lifting on the outlook for corporate business travel, taking a new shape with remote and hybrid workplaces being the new norm.
2023 Corporate Travel Trends and Developments
A recent Deloitte study on the future of corporate travel examines survey responses of 334 travel managers and executives worldwide. Specifically, the study finds several key trends and developments we’re interested in at Visiting Media.
- The reshaping of travel to account for social shifts, such as more flexible work, and corporate travel-specific shifts, such as higher expectations of flexible travel bookings.
- The strategic positioning of travel within companies, including managing budgets and balancing the value of in-person versus virtual meetings.
- Attitudes towards technology for different travel use cases are being monitored, as they may change the business travel landscape.
- The state of relations between travel buyers and suppliers, especially in contract negotiations.
- Supplier-led sustainability efforts have the potential to move the needle on bookings.
The Deloitte study found corporate travel is rebounding in the US and Europe, with spending projected to reach two-thirds of 2019 levels by the end of 2023. Likely, corporate travel is poised to recover to pre-pandemic levels by late 2024.
Travel Growth in 2023 and Beyond
International travel is expected to grow, with US respondents expecting international travel costs to jump from 21% in 2022 to 33% in 2023. Furthermore, live events are expected to be a significant driver of growth in 2023, with more than half of travel managers in the US and Europe expecting industry events to spur travel growth.
Specifically for the hospitality industry, technology like Visiting Media’s TrueTour™ has closed the gap between visiting and experiencing a property. In short, TrueTour allows you to interact with properties in ways not possible in person. Immersive 360° imagery and 3D modeling, as well as traditional photo, video, and Fly Through Media, showcase property like never before. Technology like TrueTour has reduced or eliminated the need to visit before booking your venue or scavenge through old photos before planning corporate travel. With many decision-makers involved in corporate travel and conference planning, the pre-planning and pre-event phase of corporate business travel has shifted to a remote approach to venue selection, RFP review, logistics coordination, and more.
Additionally, companies’ internal meetings and conferences are beginning to include more vendors, clients, and customers, ensuring business relations are present and enhanced by business travel that was once exclusively reserved for company business.
Future Shifts in Corporate Travel
Undoubtedly, the shift towards remote and hybrid work due to the pandemic has influenced the type of business trips taken. What may have been reserved exclusively for senior leadership strategy or high-performance incentives has now become essential for entire teams and workforces in a remote or hybrid environment.
The preference for hybrid and remote work models has led to a new necessity for monthly team meetings, quarterly summits, and annual large-scale gatherings. Visiting Media, as an example, is a fully distributed workforce. As such, leveraging business travel and events is essential to maintaining our company culture. Effectively, event and business travel outside the office is a standard part of doing business.
Working With Technology, Not Against It
Technology like TrueTour is perfectly positioned to assist with corporate travel planning as a return to a convenient experience vetting properties based anywhere in the world and planning large events with other distributed team members outside the office. The future shift of corporate travel isn’t one of “will it or will it not come back” or how technology will disrupt travel. Instead, the future shift is in how corporate travel will be enhanced by the relationships that workforces build with technology.
Are you interested in featuring Visiting Media at your brand’s next event? Contact us!
Want to learn more about TrueTour and us right now? Request your personalized demo!
Marketing • Aug 16, 2023
The Future of Corporate Travel: 2024 Trends and Developments
Leisure travel in the US and Europe has largely returned to pre-COVID levels. However, corporate travel has been slower to bounce back as decisions about business trips involve multiple factors, such as traveler safety, customer interest, and the value of attending events in a hybrid capacity.
In the latter half of 2022, the world saw a mix of positive and negative economic signals and a growing concern about a recession and layoffs in the tech sector. Moreover, issues in the banking sector compounded financial problems. The future of business travel was unclear. Now, the fog is lifting on the outlook for corporate business travel, taking a new shape with remote and hybrid workplaces being the new norm.
2023 Corporate Travel Trends and Developments
A recent Deloitte study on the future of corporate travel examines survey responses of 334 travel managers and executives worldwide. Specifically, the study finds several key trends and developments we’re interested in at Visiting Media.
- The reshaping of travel to account for social shifts, such as more flexible work, and corporate travel-specific shifts, such as higher expectations of flexible travel bookings.
- The strategic positioning of travel within companies, including managing budgets and balancing the value of in-person versus virtual meetings.
- Attitudes towards technology for different travel use cases are being monitored, as they may change the business travel landscape.
- The state of relations between travel buyers and suppliers, especially in contract negotiations.
- Supplier-led sustainability efforts have the potential to move the needle on bookings.
The Deloitte study found corporate travel is rebounding in the US and Europe, with spending projected to reach two-thirds of 2019 levels by the end of 2023. Likely, corporate travel is poised to recover to pre-pandemic levels by late 2024.
Travel Growth in 2023 and Beyond
International travel is expected to grow, with US respondents expecting international travel costs to jump from 21% in 2022 to 33% in 2023. Furthermore, live events are expected to be a significant driver of growth in 2023, with more than half of travel managers in the US and Europe expecting industry events to spur travel growth.
Specifically for the hospitality industry, technology like Visiting Media’s TrueTour™ has closed the gap between visiting and experiencing a property. In short, TrueTour allows you to interact with properties in ways not possible in person. Immersive 360° imagery and 3D modeling, as well as traditional photo, video, and Fly Through Media, showcase property like never before. Technology like TrueTour has reduced or eliminated the need to visit before booking your venue or scavenge through old photos before planning corporate travel. With many decision-makers involved in corporate travel and conference planning, the pre-planning and pre-event phase of corporate business travel has shifted to a remote approach to venue selection, RFP review, logistics coordination, and more.
Additionally, companies’ internal meetings and conferences are beginning to include more vendors, clients, and customers, ensuring business relations are present and enhanced by business travel that was once exclusively reserved for company business.
Future Shifts in Corporate Travel
Undoubtedly, the shift towards remote and hybrid work due to the pandemic has influenced the type of business trips taken. What may have been reserved exclusively for senior leadership strategy or high-performance incentives has now become essential for entire teams and workforces in a remote or hybrid environment.
The preference for hybrid and remote work models has led to a new necessity for monthly team meetings, quarterly summits, and annual large-scale gatherings. Visiting Media, as an example, is a fully distributed workforce. As such, leveraging business travel and events is essential to maintaining our company culture. Effectively, event and business travel outside the office is a standard part of doing business.
Working With Technology, Not Against It
Technology like TrueTour is perfectly positioned to assist with corporate travel planning as a return to a convenient experience vetting properties based anywhere in the world and planning large events with other distributed team members outside the office. The future shift of corporate travel isn’t one of “will it or will it not come back” or how technology will disrupt travel. Instead, the future shift is in how corporate travel will be enhanced by the relationships that workforces build with technology.
Are you interested in featuring Visiting Media at your brand’s next event? Contact us!
Want to learn more about TrueTour and us right now? Request your personalized demo!