Virtual meetings, budget cuts, and strikes: European business travelers lament disruptions

Neu-Isenburg, October 07, 2024

Business travelers in Europe had to contend with a multitude of inconveniences in the past twelve months. This is the result of a survey of 543 business travelers in nine European countries (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom) conducted by corporate payments expert AirPlus.

Above all, it was internal company measures that caused employees the most trouble – especially travel policies that prescribe virtual meetings instead of travel. 28 percent of respondents said that this had a big or very big negative impact on their travel. Right behind that, 22 percent cited budget cuts. The reduction of business travel due to corporate social responsibility efforts impacted 17 percent of respondents.

But external influences such as strikes (mentioned by 19 percent) and wars or geopolitical conflicts in the destination area (16 percent) also led to impairments.

Personal meetings are still very important to the respondents. 88 percent of respondents see some kind of disadvantage in replacing business trips with video conferencing. The lack of personal contact (mentioned by 61 percent) and the lack of networking opportunities (33 percent) are seen as the biggest disadvantages here.

When it comes to the business purposes that require face-to-face contact, respondents see building trust and relationships as the top priority (mentioned by 51 percent), followed by negotiations/persuasion (40 percent) and discussing strictly confidential or sensitive topics (39 percent).

About AirPlus International:

AirPlus International is a leading international provider of corporate payment solutions. 55,000 corporate customers rely on AirPlus for the payment and evaluation of their business trips and other purchasing services. The products and services are marketed worldwide under the AirPlus International brand. AirPlus is an issuer of the UATP and Mastercard card schemes. The AirPlus Company Account is the most successful billing account within the UATP. For more information, visit www.airplus.com.