Business travel is an important driver for building personal connections, for corporate culture, career development and for more profit and sales. “Back to Blue Skies”, a joint study by American Express and American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) with clear survey results, underpins these fundamental findings.
The survey of travelers and travel managers at U.S. companies of all sizes and industries offers insights of general validity:
• 83 percent of decision makers are optimistic that business travel volumes will return to pre-pandemic levels in the next two years.
• 69 percent of decision-makers believe that increasing levels of home office and video conferencing will lead to more business travel.
• For 85 percent of business travelers, the opportunity to travel on business is an important criterion when looking for opportunities for professional development.
• For 82 percent of business travelers and 79 percent of decision-makers, the advantages of face-to-face encounters outweigh the convenience of virtual conferences.

• There is a desire to adapt travel guidelines to the new reality and to redesign them. 73 percent of decision-makers want support in revising the existing guidelines in order to ensure the safety of employees. 78 percent expect their company’s travel policies to be different than they were before the Covid-19 pandemic.
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