As millions remain unemployed and dozens of COVID “hot spots” continue to pop up around the world, governments continue to enforce strict mandates and restrictions for businesses, especially those in the travel and hospitality industries. Business travelers are the lifeblood of these industries and with business travel on pause, the dominoes are beginning to fall, and for many, it all begins with the airline industry.
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ExpertFlyer.com, an online air travel information tool recently acquired by Red Ventures, conducted a survey among 1,300* of its subscribers to determine how travel bans have impacted their business, how they are adjusting, and if alternative solutions to conducting business, such as virtual conferencing, are enough to survive.
The survey covered a variety of topics, including:
1. Travelers’ trust in airlines and hotels to self-impose and regulate effective safety measures
2. The impact travel bans are having on job performance
3. Views on effective use of remote communication tools versus in-person meetings
4. Work/life balance without business travel
5. The airline industry’s impact on the overall economy
ExpertFlyer asked several travel industry experts to weigh-in on the results of the survey and provide some commentary on the future of business travel. The panel of experts included Consumer Reports Aviation Adviser, William J. McGee; Jason Wynn, Chief Commercial Officer, Upside Business Travel; Chris Lopinto, Founder, ExpertFlyer.com; and Patrick Fragale, Executive Vice President at Valerie Wilson Travel, who shared his insight during a recent podcast with ExpertFlyer.
“Small businesses are the lifeblood of the American economy, and they are being hit hard by this pandemic, particularly by the lack of travel,” said Jason Wynn, Chief Commercial Officer at Upside Business Travel. “There is a hunger to get back to business and that means getting back on the road, but there’s a catch. 81% of business travelers anticipate traveling in 2021, but 82% of business travelers won’t feel confident traveling until there is some form of a vaccine, even if imperfect.”
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