The appetite for business travel remains strong, with 69 per cent of business travellers intending to travel for business in the next two to three months, according to a new barometer poll launched by Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Despite reduced budgets and restricted travel directives for colleagues, particularly for the French (43 per cent), and for American and Chinese business travellers (42 per cent each), almost three quarters (73 per cent) of business trips planned in the next two to three months are for a minimum duration of three days and two nights.
The results show an eagerness among companies to quickly resume business meeting activity, either physically or by creating virtual meetings – 69 per cent of respondents were contemplating the latter.
It is primarily to attend a meeting (34 per cent) that these business travellers, particularly the British (46 per cent of them), intend to travel. Then a congress (26 per cent), favoured strongly by German travellers (54 per cent), and finally a trade fair (12 per cent) for which Italians (28 per cent) showed a marked interest. Specific to France, professional training, was the second most popular reason for travelling for 25 per cent of French travellers polled.
Also, more than three quarters (77 per cent) of respondents said they had already extended their business stay with a leisure stay. This is particularly the case for Chinese, American, Italian and Spanish business travellers.
Corinne Ménégaux, MD of Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau, said: “In this period of crisis, it is more than ever necessary to monitor the behaviour of business travellers. We must be continually proactive and know how to keep reinventing ourselves. As with leisure tourism, this barometer is essential to gaining a better insight into tourism recovery and to have a real tracking tool for stakeholders in the sector. We are convinced that business tourism alone, accounting for nearly 50 per cent of hotel nights, will be one of the main drivers of the recovery.”
Business travellers think (86 per cent of them) that the crisis will have a lasting impact on the policies of companies for event planning, with fewer events organized (65 per cent) and that companies will integrate health and safety precautions (57 per cent). Beyond the budgetary aspect, bringing accommodation (81 per cent), meeting venues (82 per cent) and means of transport (81 per cent) into line with new health and safety standards are the measures that are voted the most popular for restarting business travel.
Frédéric PITROU, secretary general of Unimev – L’Union Française des Métiers de l’Evénement, said: “Companies need visibility to take part in business meetings, trade shows and conventions, or to plan corporate events or congresses. The successive trips of these business travellers are linked to these anticipations. Measuring them with this barometer is very useful for players in the events industry.”
The results come from Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau’s new barometer on the outlook for business tourism. The questionnaire polled 2,840 respondents in early June across seven countries – France, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, United States and China – with at least 400 replies per country. There will be three more surveys conducted before the end of the year.
Written By
James Lancaster
AMI editor James
Lancaster is a familiar face in the meetings industry and international
association community. Since joining AMI in 2010, he has gained a reputation
for asking difficult questions and getting lost in convention centres. Proofer, podcaster, and panellist - in his spare time, James likes to walk,
read, listen to music, and drink beer.
