Positives significantly outweigh negatives at work and at home when travelling for business, according to latest CWT research

9 October, 2019

Latest research from B2B4E travel management platform CWT has highlighted that business travellers feel that positives outweigh negatives at work (92%) and at home (82%) when travelling for business. Travellers from the Americas were found to be the most enthusiastic at 94% and 86% respectively, followed by travellers from Asia Pacific at 93% and 84%, and Europe at 89% and 77%.

"Travelling to a new destination, meeting someone face-to-face for the first time, networking with people that can help you to advance your business as well as your career, and getting out of the work routine are some of the most exciting factors associated to business travel according to our findings," reveals Niklas Andréen, executive vice president and chief traveller experience officer at CWT.

These are all based on a survey created by CWT and conducted by Artemis Strategy Group between the 29-Jan-2019 and 09-Feb-2019 of more than 2,700 business travellers who had travelled for business four or more times in the previous 12 months. Respondents were from the Americas (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and the United States), Europe (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the UK) and Asia Pacific (Australia, China, India, Japan, and Singapore).

The CWT research found that developing trust (39%), getting to know people better (32%), and efficiencies (31%) were the top three benefits of meeting with people in person for travellers worldwide.

European travellers were found to value getting to know people the most (37%), followed by the Americas (36%), and travellers from Asia Pacific (25%). Europeans were also found to value the efficiencies of meeting people face-to-face the most (34%), followed by travellers from Asia Pacific (31%), and the Americas (29%).

"It's important that we recognise the true value that travellers find in their travels, and understand what provides the most positive benefits while on the road," explains Mr Andréen.

Another increasing perk of travelling for business is the possibility of extending a trip for pleasure, affectionately known as bleisure. The CWT research shows that average number of times in the past 12 months that the respondents have extended their trip is 2.4. Travellers from the Americas took the lead with 2.7 times, followed by 2.4 in Europe, and 2.3 in Asia Pacific. The average number of days - globally - was 4.3 days.

The research also uncovered that companies are mostly supportive of bleisure travel if employees pay for their personal expenses (76%), especially in Asia Pacific (79%) and the Americas (77%). Companies in Europe fell short at 70%.