Meeting new people is the main benefit (30%) of business travel, but it’s also important for building relationships and raising an individual’s profile in an organisation.
According to a survey of 500 business travellers, conducted by Opinium and commissioned by World Travel Protection, 25% say travel provides an opportunity to take part in higher profile work, 26% say it offers informal time with colleagues to build relationships and 24% say it raises their profile in the organisation.
It is also an opportunity to do new and more enriching work (27%), do work that they might not otherwise have done (24%), and also to spend individual face-time with important people in an organisation (21%).
“Business travel can be a career accelerator,” says Kate Fitzpatrick, Regional Security Director, UK, World Travel Protection.
“Bonds are formed navigating unfamiliar environments and sharing experiences outside of the normal confines of a workday. Hierarchies are generally loosened when you’re on the road as well.
“With hybrid working becoming the norm, it’s interesting to see that business travellers are valuing the importance of business travel as a chance to connect with senior people in an organisation and to raise their profile.”
The online survey was conducted with 500 UK business travellers, who travel internationally for business at least once a year, on May 12 – 19 2022.
