The study also found that ‘flexibility was the most pressing need for business travelers.
According to the results of the SAP Concur study, Indian business travelers (99%) want to resume work travel within the next 12 months.
Nearly 78% of business professionals surveyed in India were eager to start a journey, and according to the study, the percentage was much higher than the global average.
About 84% of Indian business professionals felt that their inability to extend travel would hurt them both professionally and personally. Respondents from India said that most business activities such as new deal sign ups, (47%), customer additions (41%) and contract renewals (43%) would be adversely affected if their organizations did not increase business travel .
The study also found that ‘flexibility was the most pressing need for business travelers.
Around 64% of Indian business travelers said that they have the ability to choose their preferred mode of travel, compared to 43% globally. Also, 58% of Indian professionals said that they prefer to book their travel directly with airlines or hotels to ensure safety as compared to their global counterparts (39%).
Indian travelers also said that they were willing to stay in larger hotels (54%) and prefer trips with shorter distances (42%), using their private vehicle rather than public transport (49%). Whereas, around 66% of Indian business travelers said that they want to return to business travel on their own terms.
“Even though businesses have successfully adapted and are strategizing well to navigate a post-pandemic world, the importance of business travel for developing connections, ideologies and networks is no less”, Mankiran Chauhan, Says Managing Director – India, SAP Concur.
The SAP Concur survey was conducted by Wakefield Research and was part of about 3,850 business travelers across 25 geographies, including India.
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