The wait is over as 2023 Business Travel Forecast is out from our house with interesting predictions and business travel trends. 2022 has already shown good signs of travel throughout the year and the graph of business travel is looking very promising for 2023 as well. Despite the fact, that the travel suppliers like Air, Hotels and Ground transportations are hiking their prices for the current year, it has been observed that both business and leisure travelers are keeping aside a separate travel budget and ready to pay the prices for their most desired travel experiences which were so long taking a temporary halt.
Corporate across India and rest of the world are changing their travel policies as business travel has seen a steep rise in 2022 and more is forecasted in 2023. Lufthansa City Center Travels & Rentals is quite optimistic about 2023 as per the preferences and travel behaviors of corporate travelers and expecting the following few changes and business travel trends that are either going to take place or have already taken place.
Price Hike
With a prolonged turmoil in the travel industry, the suppliers have taken a hit almost in all the segments which had a direct impact in the increment of fuel prices, shortages of workers and a sudden spike in cost of raw materials. As per a recent survey by Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) there will be a price hike across the travel supply of air fares, hotel bookings, car rentals and other ground transportation. According to Livemint, in India, flight costs may see a rise by 66% on domestic and 23% on international routes and hotel rates by 24% and 20% for domestic and international stays respectively.
Increase in Travel Budget
The above changes were already on the prediction list and that’s the reason most of the Corporate across India and worldwide have set aside a travel budget as the borders have opened internationally with the demand of travel rising much faster in comparison to the pre pandemic times. Some of the top-notch hotels and airlines have seen a chock-o-block situation in 2022 and predicting the demand to be more in 2023. The searches for air tickets and rooms have also grown exponentially across various travel booking platforms. So, companies who have not set a corporate travel policy yet, this data can be a wakeup call.
More SME Travel
A large Business Consultant Company based in USA, have conducted a survey among the smaller companies mostly MSMEs and revealed that small and medium sized companies have touched their pre pandemic travel levels already and are planning to increase even more. Companies who are gradually increasing their travel bookings are anticipating a full recovery by end of this year. Similar predictions have already done by Lufthansa City Center Travels & Rentals and we have mentioned that in our previous article – Business Travel takes off in 1st quarter of 2022.
Rise of MICE
MICE travel is another segment that is coming to its earlier levels with massive booking experienced in 2022 across most of the major hotels of the country. GBTA has predicted that MICE bookings will increase by 7% more than the last year. Corporate events are very likely to see a blooming phase in the present year since face-to-face interactions were almost shut down in the pandemic phase and also hotels are more prepared this time with ready facilities and amenities to offer to the Corporate travelers.
Demand of Self Booking Tool
Self booking tool will be in much demand as growing number of business travelers will now try to book travel on their own through travel booking systems that allow bookings faster. In recent times there is a growing significance of corporate booking tool that allow employees to book hotels and flight tickets according to their choices. An US based online travel booking giant has conducted a survey which reveals that in 2023 corporate travelers will prefer selecting self-booking option more than before. It is being said that this year will be the year of evolved traveler.
Safety is Priority
Prioritizing health and safety fronts are going to be another trend of 2023 because people will now consider this as prime factor for travelling. Besides the pandemic there could be other risk factors as well, like abrupt change in climatic conditions, flight disruptions, destination unrest and various other sudden travel blocks that may occur anytime during travel. A popular GDS company Amadeus has predicted that employees will now demand for safety practices from their companies more than ever. At the same time, as a responsible Corporate, the company will ensure all sorts of safety measures for their travelers through travel insurance, timely information, 24 X 7 support and much more.
Being a leading business travel management company, Lufthansa City Center Travels & Rentals is providing unperturbed business travel services to the clients with seamless travel booking through Air tickets, Hotel reservations, Ground transportation, 24 X 7 support, Online self-booking tool, Travel account management, VIP services, Documentation, Duty of Care and many essential services that have proved to be significant among corporate travelers. You can connect with our travel experts for your upcoming travel planning and availing the above-mentioned travel services now.
Happy Travel to All!
