Three fifths say business travel has become more important to them since working from home

Three fifths (60%) of business travellers say business travel has become more important to them since working from home, with networking the biggest benefit, according to an Opinium survey of 500 UK-based business travellers, commissioned by World Travel Protection, a leading global travel risk management organisation.

This is particularly true for younger business travellers with 74% of 18–44-year-olds saying this compared to 30% of 45–54-year-olds, and 27% of those aged 55 and over.

Networking is the biggest benefit of business travel (32%), followed by a change of scenery (29%), being involved in new and interesting work (27%) and travelling to places they wouldn’t otherwise visit (27%).

Other key benefits are the team bonding (27%) opportunities and building deeper relationships with team members (26%). Women see more benefits of business travel for each of these categories.

Career-advancing factors are also seen as important business travel benefits including raising their profile in an organisation (22%), increasing visibility with senior people (19% – rising to 25% women) and understanding other cultures and markets (19%).

Over one in seven (15%) also describe business travel is a career accelerator.

Kate Fitzpatrick, Regional Security Director, EMEA, at World Travel Protection, said, “Business travel can be a great perk of the job, giving you the opportunity to travel the world and get to know colleagues in a more informal setting. Also, now many people are working more from home and less in the office, business travel has become even more appealing.”

She added, “Organisations often have different processes when it comes to business travel, from who books the trips and accommodation, to briefings on destinations, and emergency procedures.

“It’s imperative that comprehensive travel policies are in place that prioritise employees’ safety and well-being throughout their journeys. Travelling staff need to be made aware of these, as it may have been a while since they travelled with work.

“World Travel Protection, for instance, offers clients a travel assist app providing detailed background and information on destinations and tailored security advice covering issues such as the risks faced by solo women travellers and the LGBTQ+ community.”