A report commissioned by Travel Park and released June 13 found that executives see business travel as valuable not just for generating revenue but also for boosting employee morale, with most CEOs planning to increase their travel budgets this year.
The Value of Business Travel report, which surveyed 4,600 business travelers and 625 travel managers and administrators within TravelPerk's customer base, as well as 2,000 corporate decision makers outside of TravelPerk's customer base (540 of whom were C-level leaders), showed that 62% of CEOs expect their travel budgets to increase year-over-year.
US companies are the most bullish in the survey, with 61% planning to increase their budgets, while just under half of European companies said the same, including 39% in Germany, 46% in the UK and 48% in Spain.
According to the report, expanding into new markets was the top reason for the budget increase, cited by 47% of companies, with other top reasons cited being increased attendance at meetings and events and growing employee headcount.
The study also provided an assessment of the return on investment of business travel, both in terms of financial and human impact: Business leaders surveyed attribute on average roughly one-third of their organization's revenue growth in 2023 to in-person meetings, and 95% of leaders said that without in-person meetings their organization would lose customers, losing roughly 27% of their customer base on average.
Additionally, 82% of U.S. CEOs and 65% of European CEOs surveyed say business travel helps improve employee retention, and 75% of HR decision makers surveyed say adding travel opportunities to a job description makes it more attractive to applicants. Among traveler segments surveyed, 63% say traveling for work makes them more likely to stay with their current employer, a figure that rises to 76% for the subset of Gen Z employees.
According to the report, companies that increased their travel budgets in 2023 had an 8.6% employee turnover rate, below the Gallup average of 10% and 3.5 percentage points lower than companies that cut their budgets.
Among companies planning to cut their budgets this year (about a third of those surveyed), travel costs were the top driver, cited by 35% of respondents, with other top reasons including company cost-cutting measures (30%) and concerns about environmental sustainability (27%).
“In today's competitive environment, businesses are realizing the immense value that business travel delivers,” said Avi Meir, CEO and co-founder of TravelPerk. “From improving employee engagement and increasing revenue generated from in-person meetings to getting work done that can't be done without being there, business travel is not just a cost center — it's an investment in growth, innovation and company culture.”
The survey for the report was conducted from April 10 to 17.
This report originally appeared in Business Travel News.
