New research finds employees are ready to return to pre-pandemic levels of business travel

In the months (and months) following March 2020, the pandemic put so many parts of life on hold. Outings were minimized to grocery store runs. More employees started working from home. Fewer people were traveling, including for business purposes. But as we continue to navigate work-life as the COVID-19 vaccine becomes more prevalent, one part of how we work is on the rise: business travelers are getting back to travel.

A new study from Qualtrics and SAP Concur reveals how workers are ready to return to pre-pandemic levels of business travel: 7 in 10 (70%) business travelers expect to go back to traveling as much as they did before the pandemic. In fact, 3 in 5 (57%) business travelers have traveled for business 1-3 times in the past year, including Gen Z (68%) and millennials (56%) who traveled the most.

The new study found that among U.S. employees who work full-time at companies with at least 500 employees and who typically travel for business at least once a year:

Employees are ready to start traveling for business again, despite COVID-19

• Over 4 in 5 (84%) are willing to travel for business in the next year, compared to 8% who are unwilling to travel for business
• Over 1 in 2 (54%) say business travel is very important or critical to their role, especially millennials (37%)
  • In fact, among this group who say business travel is very important or critical, 93% are willing to travel for business in the next year
• Nearly 3 in 4 (72%) feel at least somewhat safe traveling for business
  • Interestingly, those who are unvaccinated are more likely (39%) to say they feel very safe while traveling, compared to those who are vaccinated (29%)
  • Keep in mind: 4 in 5 (83%) business travelers have been vaccinated, while nearly 1 in 5 (17%) have not been vaccinated

Employees are already planning to travel for business at pre-pandemic rates

• Pre-pandemic, most employees traveled for business 1-3 times per year:
  • 1-3 times per year: 36%
  • 4-6 times per year: 32%
  • 7 or more times per year: 29%
• In the next year, most employees plan to travel for business at the same rate (1-3 times per year):
  • 1-3 times per year: 37%
  • 4-6 times per year: 34%
  • 7 or more times per year: 19%
• Only 7% say their company is not allowing business travel in the next year, with over 4 in 5 (83%) saying they believe their company’s business travel policies are fair

Men are more likely than women to feel safe while traveling for business

• Nearly 9 in 10 (88%) of men are willing to travel for business in the next year, compared to 8 in 10 (80%) of women
• Men (78%) are more likely to feel safe while traveling for business than women (67%)
• Men (31%) are more likely than women (22%) to say travel is very important or critical to their role

Despite travel readiness, employees plan to book differently

• Business travelers’ top three priorities when booking business trips are local COVID-19 infection rates at their destination, local COVID-19 vaccination rates at their destination and eco-friendly travel options
  • Cost-effective options are second to last in the priority list
• The top pain points of business travel are how long employees are away from home (30%), how long the trip takes (16%), how expensive the trip is (14%) and the process of creating, submitting and waiting for expense reimbursements (14%)
• Most business travelers (70%) plan to make more sustainable and eco-friendly choices when planning company travel in the future

Study Methodology:This study was conducted by Qualtrics and SAP Concur and was fielded between October 4-9, 2021. Respondents were selected from a randomized panel and considered eligible if they live in the United States, are at least 18 years of age, are employed full time and typically travel for business at least once a year. The total number of respondents was 1,070. Respondents who did not pass quality standards were removed.