Business travel resumes, though not at its former pace
Business travel appears to be returning, albeit unevenly, after all but disappearing for most of the pandemic. Despite early predictions that Zoom meetings would supplant face-to-face encounters even after the coronavirus had receded, industry trade groups and hotel companies are pointing to significant upswings in small business meetings as well as larger conventions and trade shows in the last couple of months. Airlines also say bookings by business travelers have recently jumped. What is not returning so quickly, executives and experts say, are business trips by individuals. Some employers continue to set limits on travel. In other cases, because of Covid restrictions, visitors are not allowed in the offices of the people they want to see. And reflecting the disparate pace of the recovery, domestic business travel has returned faster than international, and travel to and from Europe has had a bigger rebound than Asia bookings. Even within the United States, the strength of the return of business travel depends on the destination. In Las Vegas, the number of trade shows and events scheduled is actually higher this year than in 2019. But, said Steve Hill, president and chief executive of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, attendance is projected to be only 60 to 65% of the prepandemic level. In New York, the city’s tourism promotion body forecasts that business travel will not exceed 2019 levels until 2025. Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst for Atmosphere Research, pointed to data on worldwide airline ticket sales that “shows a steady increase in the number of business travel tickets being issued.” That, he said, is “concrete evidence that the rebound in business travel is underway.” Yet for all the positive signs that business travel is taking root again, Russia’s war in Ukraine, China’s “zero Covid” lockdowns and the unpredictable path of the pandemic all threaten to stifle a widespread return to 2019 levels from happening anytime soon.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2022-05-16/general/business-travel-resumes-though-not-at-its-former-pace
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Business travel resumes, though not at its former pace
Business travel appears to be returning, albeit unevenly, after all but disappearing for most of the pandemic. Despite early predictions that Zoom meetings would supplant face-to-face encounters even after the coronavirus had receded, industry trade groups and hotel companies are pointing to significant upswings in small business meetings as well as larger conventions and trade shows in the last couple of months. Airlines also say bookings by business travelers have recently jumped. What is not returning so quickly, executives and experts say, are business trips by individuals. Some employers continue to set limits on travel. In other cases, because of Covid restrictions, visitors are not allowed in the offices of the people they want to see. And reflecting the disparate pace of the recovery, domestic business travel has returned faster than international, and travel to and from Europe has had a bigger rebound than Asia bookings. Even within the United States, the strength of the return of business travel depends on the destination. In Las Vegas, the number of trade shows and events scheduled is actually higher this year than in 2019. But, said Steve Hill, president and chief executive of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, attendance is projected to be only 60 to 65% of the prepandemic level. In New York, the city’s tourism promotion body forecasts that business travel will not exceed 2019 levels until 2025. Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst for Atmosphere Research, pointed to data on worldwide airline ticket sales that “shows a steady increase in the number of business travel tickets being issued.” That, he said, is “concrete evidence that the rebound in business travel is underway.” Yet for all the positive signs that business travel is taking root again, Russia’s war in Ukraine, China’s “zero Covid” lockdowns and the unpredictable path of the pandemic all threaten to stifle a widespread return to 2019 levels from happening anytime soon.<br/>
