B.C. executives are travelling more for business than they did during the pandemic but many say they are more selective over which trips they make.
“A lot of business travel will never come back,” he said in a CNBC interview earlier this year, before his company's annual meeting. Adjusted for inflation, however, that travel spending would be below pre-pandemic levels, according to Deloitte.Its first key take-away lesson was that “business travel changes are permanent.” It dismissed what it called a “return to normal,” in part because corporate budgets have been cut, and in part because many workers are happiest when they do not have to travel.
Zoom, or other video technology, works well for meetings between people who already know each other, he said.“To build new relationships, at some point in the relationship, a face-to-face meeting really helps to cement that bond.” What point would there be to travel to a far-away place if many participants are going to essentially phone it in?A few investment conferences and medical meetings he has gone to were as well attended as ever, he said.
His company tends to use the corporate travel agency Egencia, and is happy with that arrangement, he said.