Buyers are feeling increasingly overwhelmed and undervalued, according to the latest survey of members by the Institute of Travel Management.
The findings, unveiled at ITM Trending 2026 in London, showed a decline in the number of buyers who said the travel function was being perceived more favourably within their business.
In 2023, 64% of buyers said the travel function was being perceived more favourably than the previous year, but this figure has slipped each year to just 52%.
Meanwhile, the percentage of buyers who said the travel function was being perceived less favourably has crept up from 8% to 12%, although it has dipped slightly from a high of 15% in 2025.
Nearly two thirds of buyers said they ‘always’ (33%) or ‘often’ (31%) feel they need to prove their value by being constantly available or delivering 100%.
Nearly one in five (19%) said they don’t feel secure in their role.
CEO Scott Davies told The Business Travel Magazine that since the survey took place, even more buyers are complaining of feeling burnt out.
“Our buyers tell us they are very overwhelmed and that in many cases they are trying to do things with less and less resource,” he said. “And since the start of 2026, this is becoming more of a problem.
“They are being given more and more responsibilities, the expectations of them are ratcheting up and, in hardly any cases, are they being given more resources to deal with that so they are having to look to their partners to meet their needs.
“Buyers are telling us the demands on them are only increasing, and on top of that there are global political and economic uncertainties, plus there’s the impact of AI and we’re only just beginning to discover what that impact will be.”
He said more buyers are struggling to demonstrate the value of their travel programme and are under pressure from their C-Suite to exploit AI, without clear direction.
