A large majority (84%) of business community respondents to an American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) survey said their organizations realize tangible business value from trips to meet with clients or prospects in person. However, they also saw a gap between that perceived value and how their organizations support their business travel programs.
The majority of respondents also say face-to-face meetings create stronger relationships with customers and are the best meeting method to make sales and initiate discussions with merger and acquisition targets. The research was done by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, which surveyed 425 members of the Harvard Business Review audience in May 2023. Respondents qualified to complete the survey if they were familiar with their organization’s business travel programs.
Other findings included:
81% agree that in-person interactions foster greater levels of innovation. Seven in 10 say in-person meetings are the best way to facilitate brainstorming.
78% said that adequate funding is very important to a travel program, but only 33% said their program was adequately funded.
80% said that a travel program being aligned with an overall business strategy was very important, but only 44% said this was true to a great extent.
82% said it was very important for a travel program to be supported by executive leadership, but only 49% said this was true to a great extent.
Andrew Crawley, Amex GBT president, said the survey findings show strong awareness of business travel’s critical role in connecting people, driving growth and supporting success. He said travel is also inherently more complex in a landscape of disruption, making the value of managed business travel more evident than ever. While many companies understand business travel is a strategic investment, said Crawley, “it is also clear they see scope for enhancing the value and effectiveness of their travel programs.”
Alex Clemente, managing director of analytic services at Harvard Business Review, said that while there is a return to business travel, “this report demonstrates the dangers in not maintaining face-to-face relationships with customers, workers and business partners. Collaboration, innovation and relationships suffer.”
