As business travel has resumed, new challenges have emerged for the travel industry and corporate travel. Economic uncertainty, trip disruptions, and the new hybrid workplace model have all played a part in altering the approach to business trips in a more competitive landscape.

To better understand these shifts, Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, in collaboration with American Express Global Business Travel, surveyed 425 business decision makers involved in their organisations' travel programmes in May 2023.

The report, “Investing in Travel to Drive Business Growth: A Strategy for Thriving in Disruption,” underscores that while remote and videoconferencing meetings are here to stay, the value of in-person interactions has never been higher in terms of fostering relationships and results.

A resounding 86% of respondents affirmed that in-person meetings are crucial for establishing positive, long-term relationships with customers, while 88% expressed the same for building positive relationships among employees and coworkers.

The survey also highlighted new opportunities alongside the challenges in this new era of travel. Eight characteristics of a successful travel management programme emerged from the data, and the more these factors were prioritised within an organisation, the more beneficial the corporate travel management programme was to the company's goals.

Download the full report to learn how companies like RTX and Medtronic are seeing business travel deliver tangible growth rates and business value in different ways such as:

• Closing deals more effectively.
• Innovating more quickly and creatively.
• Troubleshooting issues more collaboratively.
• Being more attentive to achieving the company's goals.
• Evaluating merger and acquisition targets more thoroughly.

Smart companies will recognise trends and the need to re-examine their travel programme in the wake of the pandemic in order to maximise the impact across the entire organisation.

To download the report and learn more, fill in a few details on this page.