Corporate travel firms face ‘challenging’ autumn

The corporate travel sector faces a "challenging" recovery with companies "less eager" to send employees travelling on business than before.

That is the view of Deloitte lead partner for transportation Alistair Pritchard, who warned some of the decline in business travel "will be permanent".

The UK Business Travel Association (BTA) called last week for a 'parachute package' of support measures from the government to help travel management companies (TMCs) and suppliers survive.

The BTA wrote to Chancellor Rishi Sunak warning of the loss of up to 10,000 jobs in the sector without urgent action.

Speaking on a Travel Weekly Roadmap to Recovery webcast, Pritchard said: "It's going to be a challenging recovery on the business travel side - partly because of the [online meeting] technologies that have come to the fore over the last few months.

"That is coupled with employers' responsibility to look after people and a recognition that they can keep costs down.

"Corporates will be less eager to put people back out travelling on business, particularly long haul."

Pritchard foresees a slow return of corporate travel, arguing: "Ultimately, people like doing business with other people and there is always going to be a desire to do business face to face. So it will start to recover.

"[But] it will be below the levels it was, at least for some time - driven by corporate policies and the added benefits from a cost and environmental perspective.