Face to Face

Is business travel returning to normal?

Rail operator LNER has published a new report looking at the future of business travel in the post Covid world.

Entitled Railway to Recovery: The Future of Business Travel, the report finds that 89 per cent of office workers are confident that face-to-face meeting will become the norm again by the end of the year, with around 60 per cent seeing see “some office attendance as vital for sharing business intelligence and better client servicing.”

Over a third of respondents said that a lack of face-to-face meetings had harmed new opportunities, with nearly 60 per cent reporting a pick-up in business/trading since face-to-face interactions resumed.

LNER said that it is currently seeing above five per cent growth in business travel week on week, adding that it “does not predict this abating in 2022”.

“Our conversations with businesses have found that face to face meetings are more important than ever as people continue to reconnect and recover after a challenging couple of years”, said David Horne, Managing Director at LNER.

“Whilst virtual platforms have grown enormously, our research has found that people want to get back out and travel for business, and to reap the benefits of meeting clients and colleagues in person.

 

“To help businesses navigate the complexities of the current landscape, at LNER we’ve identified the drivers of business travel, the pressures employers are facing and the new needs of the business traveller.

 

“We hope our findings will help inform and advance the travel policies of businesses throughout the UK, as they look to grow in a sustainable and responsible way.”

The full report – commissioned by LNER in collaboration with Thread & Bloom and Nina&Pinta – can be seen here.

Gray Dawes Events

Whether it’s finding the perfect meeting space for your next sales team get-together, creating the wow factor for your company conference or everything in between, you’re in the right place. 

Gray Dawes Events are part of the Gray Dawes Group – one of the UK’s largest independent travel management companies. With specialist, award-winning divisions providing tailored services for business travel, luxury leisure travel and meetings & events (that’s us!), we enjoy all the benefits that brings, both in terms of buying power and industry clout.

To help you navigate the changes of business travel, we’ve created the brand-new Traveller Toolkit. This invaluable online resource is packed full of easy-to-use guides and checklists for every stage of every journey. We detail exactly what you need to know and do before, during and after your trip in a post-pandemic, post Brexit world.

You can even check the travel restrictions and health status of your destination with our comprehensive COVID-19 Country Tracker, updated five times daily to ensure you have the very latest information to help keep you and your travellers safe.

Travel is changing. With common sense and a good TMC behind you, travellers can have the confidence to once again take to the skies. It’ll soon be back business as (un)usual.