Reducing Business Travel Could Have Negative Long-Term Impact on Industry

Image: Business colleagues arriving at a conference. (photo via jacoblund/iStock/Getty Images Plus) (jacoblund /iStock /Getty Images Plus)

by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:10 AM ET, Fri July 1, 2022

A new study found that over half of large-company executives agree that reducing business travel may represent short-term savings but would bring long-term negative impacts on revenue.

According to a survey from U.S. Travel Association, more than two-thirds of executives expect their company to spend less on business travel over the next six months compared to the same period in 2019.

Despite agreement that reducing business travel will harm long-term sales, half of the companies still have policies restricting business travel. As a result, U.S. Travel encourages companies to prioritize a return to normal business travel operations.

Data shows that companies that restrict or reduce business travel negatively impact their bottom lines and lose a competitive advantage in the coming months. Research indicates domestic business travel will experience strong growth in 2022 before tapering off in the following years.

Add in factors such as increased interest rates, high inflation, labor shortages and supply chain challenges, and there are signs that business travel spending could be stifled moving forward. With more businesses setting aggressive goals to reduce their carbon footprint, companies may also choose to minimize business travel to achieve net-zero emissions.

U.S. Travel is advocating for federal policies to offset these threats to business travel and help accelerate the sector's recovery. The agency is calling on the government to support a tax extenders package that includes a temporary restoration of the entertainment business expense deduction and an extension of full expensing for business meals.

In addition, U.S. Travel is advocating for the federal government to play an active role in drawing large international meetings and events back to the U.S. to spur business travel and increase global competitiveness.

Earlier this month, leading data and analytics firm GlobalData revealed evidence through analysis of corporate filings that suggests companies are looking to resume business travel.

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