Bisnis perjalanan is making a steady comeback, and corporate travellers could not be happier about it. However, this comeback is not without the accompanying new business travel trends.

The corporate travelling landscape in the post-pandemic world is significantly different from what it was before the pandemic. Travel trends have shifted, primarily due to technological advancement, which has compelled businesses to modify their operations from manual to automated.

So, if you are a travel manager looking to gain insight into all these new business travel trends that have been making headlines, continue reading!

Current corporate travel landscape

With the recent resumption of corporate travel, a noticeable trend has been towards its growth worldwide. Specifically in the APAC region, the projected increase in business T&E (travel and expense) is 41.2%, with the most spending in Singapore, New Zealand, and Thailand.

The reason for this surging growth is the satisfaction of business travellers, amongst whom 81% reported that travelling in person is worthwhile for achieving their business goals. Understandably, nothing beats hosting in-person meetings and interacting with your customers or other employees face-to-face at conferences.

Because they are crucial for a business, travel trips are also budgeted for in the most uncertain economic circumstances. Nevertheless, only 11% of corporations have dedicated travel management systems, making it difficult for managers to juggle tasks and keep pace with continuously shifting trends.

While business travellers enjoy travelling, their preferences have transitioned with the rising environmental awareness and the change in workplace culture. Thus, as a travel manager handling corporate travel, it is your responsibility to be updated on these new business travel trends to ensure employee well-being and plan your business travel budget.

Latest business travel trends

ESG

One of the travel trends that have been on the rise among corporate travellers is the ESG (environmental, social, and governance) factor in travelling. With travelling under the spotlight regarding environmental damage, 91% of business travellers are more inclined towards travelling greener, meaning they want to travel but not at the expense of damaging their environment.

The chief executive of Green Tourism, Andrea Nicholas, said, “The pandemic has fast-forwarded the concept of sustainable tourism by five to ten years ahead, and where you mustered an add-on by businesses, it is now a must-have.”

Therefore, to ensure employee satisfaction, find businesses with green certification when booking flights or other accommodations. Getting access to ESG data is no more challenging.

Gregory Miller, the executive director of the Center For Responsible Travel, advises all travel managers to explore the websites of businesses cautiously. If there is no word on sustainability, then “that should be a flag.”

Digital Tipping

Often, with the lack of documentation for certain out-of-pocket expenses for business travellers, such as tipping, it is difficult to manage T&E and reimburse employees. However, with innovative technological advancements, there are applications through which you can digitally track tipping and formulate the business travel budget accordingly.

Grazzy is one of the many platforms that has made digital tipping accessible and convenient for employees and companies. Business travel managers should transparently incorporate tipping and its reimbursement in corporate travel policies and give employees discretion to the extent they can tip.

Business Travel Preferences

Another remarkable change that has materialised is in business travel preferences. Previously, business travellers would stay in any hotel arranged by their company. Now, they explicitly demand accommodation in quiet, environment-friendly, and safe areas.

Even for flight bookings, employees prefer to travel on direct flights irrespective of the departure or arrival time. Similarly, business travellers frequently opt for public transportation as high-speed railways, trains, and buses are more efficient and environmentally friendly.

However, the most noticeable business travel trend seen till now is “bleisure,” when business travellers mix their business with leisure. As reported,  95% of travellers choose this travel technique and extend their trips to explore activities outside the business realm.

Therefore, to plan a successful and satisfying business trip, it is essential to consider the business traveller’s new and changed preferences.

Corporate Catering

On average, 63% of corporate traveller’s spending accounts for money spent on dining, which, when totalled for all the days spent travelling, sums up into a large T&E amount. However, an efficient way for saving costs for your company is to jump on the bandwagon of the corporate catering travel trends.

Here, the company contracts with a catering company and arranges food for its employees throughout their stay. Not only is this an effective method for travel managers to optimise the business travel budget, but it also ensures that business travellers are facilitated with proper meals, consequently enhancing employee wellbeing.

Popularity Of Ride-Hailing Apps

A travel trend that has been the highlight of the current corporate travel landscape is the massive utilisation of ride-hailing apps.

Ride-hailing apps like Uber for Business have reported that compared to 2023, in 2024, their monthly bookings increased by 14%, and 156 million active platform consumers used their services.

Ride-hailing apps are an economical solution for travel managers to consider. This is because you can pre-book rides, monitor spending, enjoy company-exclusive discounts, and access options like Uber Green dan Uber Business Comfort.

Up-To-Date Trip Planning Made Easier With TruTrip

As travel managers who want to remain effective in their role and plan corporate trips that are saving costs and simultaneously improving employee well-being, your only way out is to plan up-to-date trips that are in sync with the latest business travel trends.

Need help to plan trips incorporating new business travel trends? Jadwalkan demo dengan kami atau mendaftar untuk uji coba gratis on TruTrip, and together, let’s plan incredible and economical business trips!