corporate trips
18 month will be needed for the full return of Corporate Trips volume in Greece and Cyprus!
Corporate travel is confronted with the nightmarish consequences of COVID-19
Companies have stopped their business trips almost completely, for about 3 months now and the industry is suffering. Huge cuts are foreseen and a large contraction of Greek travel companies in the field of corporate travel. The damage has already been done. It remains to measure its size. When will this happen; Around the end of September. It would have happened much earlier, but the time extension of the employment suspension opportunity gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to wait for 2 more months for the situation to be reversed.
Figame.com Travel Organization (Reed and MacKay partner for Greece and Cyprus), one of the leaders in the field of corporate travel in the Greek market, conducted a survey, which involved more than 200 companies based in Greece and Cyprus. Some of the largest corporate travel spenders in these markets were selected as well as companies with a smaller volume of business trips (indicatively some of them: Intracom Group of Companies, Marks and Spencer, MAZARS, MEVGAL, Mikel, Skagias SA, Ioniki Sfoliata SA., Neokem SA, QMS Cert). Corporate travel buyers gave their projections, based their experience and on their company’s directions.
In 1 to 3 months the first sales!
31% of respondents believe that the company in which they work will start some corporate trips immediately after the opening of the itineraries. If we add to this number a 33% who thinks that this restart will be done in one to three months, it turns out that 64% of the respondents believe that within the first 3 months after June there will be some staff travelling.
Recovery will be slow but stable
Opinions are divided on how many companies will travel after the reboot. 50% of respondents believe that they will do less than 20% (18%) of the movement they did before the lock down, while only 5% expect a movement around 80%.
When asked how long they think they will travel to the same levels as before COVID 19, only 5% think they will start traveling immediately. 46% believe that it will take 6 months to reach the same level of corporate travel expenses. 23% believe it will take 6 to 12 months while 31% say they will need more than 12 months.
Public transport is the most dangerous travel service and flights is the second one
64% say the company’s travel policy will change. 62% believe that it is time for the company to change the way travel bookings are made to date and to start using an online Corporate Booking tool.
Are employees afraid to start travelling?
To the question of whether the executives of the companies will be affected by COVID19 in relation to their travel pattern, 89% answered positively. The executives will think twice about taking a decision to travel.
In conclusion, a different day dawns in the field of corporate travel. All participants believe that the corporate trip will fully recover. But that will take time. Corporate travel agencies will have to wait several months to see their progress on previous levels. The answers of the respondents show that within 12 months the traffic will have been largely restored. In about 18 months, they say the market will be the same. The data do not differ much from similar European surveys. Around the end of 2021, the executives declare that the specific market will be as before.
Will corporate travel agencies be assisted by state to overcome the financial shock state? Will businesses or jobs be supported? Will there be a resurgence of COVID19 in the fall that will change the data again? Lots of questions and a only a few answers. The market is here but in repression… Figame.com will continue providing outstanding travel services during this.
By Figame.com
