As you pack your bags for your summer holidays, we want to remind you that the benefits of travel are not limited to recreational ones. Here are some of the upsides to corporate travel, which might influence your plans for 2020!
But first, a quick peek at what are the most common forms of business travel, according to research by Oxford Economics:
- Customer meeting: 34%
- Client office work: 22%
- Internal meetings: 11%
- Conferences: 10%
- Trade shows: 10%
- Internal training: 7%
- Incentives: 5%
- Other: 2%
1. Employees see travel as a perk
According to a Boston Consulting Group survey, 90% of employees see travel as a perk and a reward for good work. Therefore business travel can be an incentive, and aid employee retention too.
TripAction’s 7 Business Travel Trends to Watch in 2020 report adds an important caveat: “Employees who have the opportunity to travel often report feeling more empowered, engaged, and energized in their roles. The flipside of that, of course, is that business travelers also experience stress and loneliness when faced with challenges on the road.
“This presents a very real case for using business travel to empower teams, and making sure that employees feel supported throughout the process, from booking through to on-hand support if and when delays and changes happen.”
2. Employees can grow through travel
Travel can help employees gain confidence and hone new skills. Booking.com highlights the following benefits that employees have reported from travelling for business:
- 70% improved confidence
- 68% improved interpersonal skills
- 66% learnt valuable life lessons
YouGov’s research in 2017 also reveals that 38% of employees believed that corporate travel helped them progress their career.
For every dollar (R14.87) invested in business travel, a company will achieve US$12.50 (R185.98) in incremental revenue and US$3.80 (R56.53) in new profits.
3. Business travel spend is an investment
A study by Oxford Economics found that for every dollar (R14.87) invested in business travel, a company will achieve US$12.50 (R185.98) in incremental revenue and US$3.80 (R56.53) in new profits.
And it doesn’t stop there. Harvard Business Review released new findings this year that show that travelling companies also benefit from improved customer loyalty and retention (50% vs 21%), market share (43% vs 22%), and employee satisfaction (35% vs 15%).
Top African cities for business travel in 2020
Only five African cities made the top 100 cities for business travel in 2020, according to CEOWORLD magazine, so we’re proud that two of these are in South Africa!
The five cities are:
#68 – Johannesburg, South Africa
#85 – Nairobi, Kenya
#89 – Cape Town, South Africa
#93 – Cairo, Egypt
#96 – Lagos, Nigeria
To create the ranking, CEOWORLD surveyed 116,500 business travellers to rank their favourite cities around the world to visit in 2020. They then evaluated the votes against the following criteria: investment opportunities, business infrastructure, talented workforce, great airports, public transport, fun things to do in the off-hours, and access to the very best business hotels and resorts. You can access the full list here.
