The vast majority of frequent travellers would be comfortable to travel today, with the right safety measures in place, according to research by Amadeus.
A survey of 1,400 regular business travellers found 84% of business travellers would be happy to travel now, rising to 87% for frequent flyers.
When asked to rank the measures that would need to be implemented, the highest priority was Covid-19 medical insurance along with up-to-date information on health and travel restrictions for each destination.
This was closely followed by hygiene information about the hotel or office they would be visiting and the ability to pay with contactless methods.
The survey, designed to assess attitudes to payment and expense procedures, also found business travellers spend 2.3 hours on average filing expense claims for each trip and wait an average of four weeks to be reimbursed by their company.
The Amadeus study also claimed that, on average, business travellers are $470 out of pocket annually due to lost receipts and that 38% of travellers said they’d considered not taking a business trip due to delayed reimbursement.
Rudy Daniello, Amadeus Executive Vice President Corporations, said: “Our findings show that travellers are eager to travel if the right safety measures are in place, which is hugely encouraging for the business travel industry. Whilst vaccination will take time, there are a range of steps corporations and travel companies can take now to protect and reassure travellers.”
He added: “New innovations in mobile payment and expense are coming online that allow travellers to pay contactlessly using their mobile, directly from the company bank account. This removes the need to touch payment terminals or handle paper receipts whilst expense reporting is automated in the background.
“Travellers can also access information relating to travel restrictions, Covid-19 prevalence and hygiene factors at the point of booking. While it may be difficult now, technological innovations can make business travel even better than it was in 2019.”
Research was conducted during February 2021 among travellers in the UK, U.S, France, Germany, Spain, India, and Japan.
