One in three European business travelers would quit without travel opportunities

Neu-Isenburg, October 07, 2024

One in three business travelers in Europe (31 percent) would change jobs if they suddenly lost the opportunity to travel or could only travel very rarely – for Generations Y and Z, the figure is as high as 40 percent. 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 payment expert AirPlus.

57 percent of respondents stated that they perceive business trips as a special privilege, especially in times of video conferencing. This is not surprising, given that 28 percent of respondents reported that their companies had encouraged them to replace travel with virtual conferences in the past twelve months, while 22 percent complained of reduced travel budgets.

Business trips have a positive influence on employee satisfaction, employee retention, and employer attractiveness.

Overall, the survey shows that benefits related to mobility are very important to employees, especially flexible working arrangements (71 percent). 56 percent of European respondents consider company cars and mobility allowances to be important. Business trip-specific benefits and the option of combining business with private travel (“bleisure”, “workation”) are considered important by almost half (49 and 45 percent respectively).

All these benefits tend to be valued more by younger employees of Generations Y and Z than by Baby Boomers and Generation X.

Business trips are still seen as a status symbol – especially for Gen Z and Gen Y.

The survey suggests that business trips are seen as a status symbol by many respondents. People who go on particularly exclusive business trips are seen as privileged by more than half of the respondents (51 percent). A good third (37 percent) have felt particularly important or superior in their social environment because of a particular business trip. Likewise, 37 percent of respondents consider people who frequently travel on business to be particularly important.

Here, too, differences between generations and genders can be observed. Men and younger respondents from Generations Y and Z tend to view business trips more as a status symbol, while the corresponding statements receive relatively less approval from women and Baby Boomers.

Business trips still a man’s business

Overall, business trips appear to be a lower priority for women, as the corresponding statements received less agreement from them than from their male counterparts in the survey. Not surprisingly: According to the AirPlus Business Travel Index, women traditionally make up only around 20 percent of travelers on business flights.

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.