A myriad of factors is driving this forecast. Keichline points out that, at the forefront, inflation and the rising costs of flights – at least in the first quarter of the new year – will generate a cut back on one-day trips. This is a trend, he says, that has already started in the US. “Business travel has got to be more of ‘how many meetings can I organise in one trip, rather than going back and forth, to save money on flights’,” he says.
Greenland agrees that while many companies may be close to their pre-pandemic spend, they’re travelling less and now combining trips, as a by-product of the current high cost of travel, which is set to continue into 2023.
“Because of flight disruptions and cancellations – which are unlikely to go away overnight in 2023 as the aviation industry continues to deal with capacity constraints – we’re likely to continue to see less same-day return domestic trips, and more multi-destination multi-day trips,” he says. “This is a consequence of the combination of higher cost of travel and the “hassle factor”; delays and disruptions that can start at the airport and continue well into the journey. It's also clear that the influence of sustainable travel is starting to show in travel policies and clients' decision making.”
