Predictions on: Diversity, equality and inclusion

Diversity, equality and inclusion will gain higher priority in travel programmes

As companies compete to attract the best employees, duty of care for their travellers remains as important as ever. Yet ensuring everyone’s diverse travel needs are met is equally key if they’re to retain that talent.

“Travel managers need to clearly consider that whatever gender, race, sexual orientation or mental and physical constraints of their travellers, they’re being well taken care of in their travel policies, that they’ll have good experiences whenever they travel,” Keichline says. “As a TMC, we need to provide the different levels of content, from airlines, hotels, ground transportation, and everything in between, that meets everyone’s needs.”

Pourkarimi agrees and adds that diversity training from a booker and travel manager perspective is also likely to take a higher priority in 2023.

“A travel manager needs to be proactive in monitoring any potential shifts in deployment of individuals and we’ll hopefully see more of this if travel managers are to place themselves as strategic players in their business,” he says. “They will have to create an environment where they’re not putting the onus on the traveller to report on issues not being right in a particular market, but are proactively equipping employees with the tools and knowledge for them to represent the organisation as inclusive to their recipients.”

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