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 in our survey weren’t all directly linked to making sales – interestingly, respondents also chose team bonding, trade networking and training opportunities as a reason to continue travelling. 

“More than a third, 37%, indicated the need to fly to visit other company sites, which simply points to just how business is done: business owners and decision-makers need to have a direct overview of their interstate teams and operations to drive success.”

Walley said the survey results show that there are a multitude of business travel benefits.

“Whether it’s securing the sale in a face-to-face meeting with a client, supporting staff retention by offering an exciting perk for employees, or being able to network your brand at international conferences,” he said. 

“In a recent survey we conducted, we found that including travel as a perk was one of the top three entitlements that attracted employees to a role. 

“This is especially the case with under-30s employees, where 40% indicated they would love travel to be a perk of their job. 

“In many ways, travel pays dividends for businesses across Australia.”

Walley said it’s tougher to do business this year, with interest rates and inflation higher than a year ago, a tighter job market, and a skills shortage. 

“Consumer spending has also been declining recently. In this environment, businesses must go further to build relationships with the view of making sales,” he said. 

“Face-to-face meetings are key to relationship building – you are unlikely to make a million-dollar sale over a video meeting. Our own research has found that a third, 37%, of business owners and decision-makers find networking opportunities and meeting new people one of the biggest benefits of business travel.”

The Corporate Traveller survey also found that 26% of respondents indicated the nature of their work required to travel to customer locations, 25% needed to travel to make sales and 20% said important meetings with stakeholders required travel this year.  

Walley said business travel includes events that range from large international business summits to regional trade shows and exhibitions. 

“SMEs are keen for real-world networking and new connections, relationships that can’t be formed by a cold call or within a silent audience for a virtual event,” he said. 

“Recent research by Corporate Traveller found that three-quarters, 72%, of businesspeople that travel for work gained plenty of personal benefits from their corporate travel.

“Many companies have embraced a hybrid working arrangement, with some offering fully remote positions, resulting in teams spread across multiple locations. 

“Despite this, businesses still recognise the positive outcome of bringing teams together, perhaps for a strategy meeting or EOFY celebration, as it is in these environments that collaboration and deliberation can truly foster.”