Business travel still flying high for nine in 10 Aussie SMEs

Business travel continues to take off post-COVID, with new research revealing that nine in ten small and medium businesses will continue to prioritise company travel, even if current economic headwinds push Australia into a recession.

Corporate Traveller – the small to medium-sized business (SME) division of the Flight Centre Travel Group, commissioned a survey of 255 SME owners and decision-makers, finding that 91% of SMEs will continue business travel. Only 9% declared they would not travel at all.

Topping the list of reasons to invest in business travel were site visits, with 37% of respondents indicating that they would travel to visit company sites, while 32% of respondents stated they would continue to travel to industry events and conferences. 

Corporate Traveller’s Australian-based global managing director Tom Walley said the results from the survey were encouraging for the travel industry and SME sector alike.

“They show the resilience of SMEs and their adaptability to change,” he said. 

“After three years of video meetings, SMEs have acknowledged that virtual meetings and sales pitches aren’t a replacement for face-to-face meetings; the bigger the sale, the more you need a human touch and a positive rapport between supplier and customer to secure it.

“The options presented to respondents...