Business travel is up in the air. The toss-up between cost-savings, employee safety, and the value of in-person interaction is an ongoing boardroom debate. In the age of virtual calls, many employees are desperate to hit the road, while others prefer to conduct their business via digital channels.
Whichever side of the fence you fall on, business travel remains vital to build working relationships and drive growth. Yet, there are certain topics relating to company travel initiatives that stakeholders don’t quite agree on. To understand the perspectives, challenges, and opportunities, it’s vital that leaders know where the disconnects lie.
The latest Global Business Travel Survey from SAP Concur asked Canadian business travellers, travel managers, and chief financial officers (CFOs) about friction points in business travel. These are the main areas of disagreement:
- The need for business travel: The overwhelming majority (95%) of business travellers believe travel is helpful, if not essential, to success in their roles. Yet, 51% of Canadian CFOs say more than half of their company’s business travel could effectively be replaced by teleconferencing or other communication methods that don’t require travel. A (27%) of travel managers view the tilt towards virtual meeting options as a direct threat to their company’s business travel.
- Employee willingness to travel: 74% of Canadian business travellers are very willing to travel over the next 12 months, marking an increase from 67% in 2023. However, nearly half (46%) of Canadian CFOs believe employee reluctance or refusal to travel could negatively impact company health within the next year. Additionally, 35% of Canadian travel managers view employees’ unwillingness as a threat to business travel.
- Changes in travel budgets: Each role has a different view on how travel budgets are evolving. Although not a majority, (38%) of Canadian business travellers think their company’s travel budgets will remain stagnant or decrease this year. Yet, only 16% of Canadian CFOs and 8% of travel managers say budgets will be maintained or cut – suggesting a disconnect between employee perceptions and management’s financial outlook.
- The roles that hold the most influence: There’s a perception gap over who influences business travel decision-making. Canadian business travellers believe travel managers (46%) and Canadian CFOs (32%) have similar influence, significantly ahead of their own at 22%. However, Canadian travel managers are broadly aligned in feeling they (39%) have nearly the same amount of influence as CFOs (34%), compared to only 27% for business travellers. Canadian CFOs strongly disagree, with 61% believing they are the most influential decision-makers, ahead of travel managers (25%) and travellers (14%).
- The impact of budget limitations: Although they see travel as critical to their roles, two-thirds (66%) of Canadian business travellers say important trips have been curtailed due to costs. In alignment, 75% of travel managers believe their company travel budget fails to reflect the importance of business travel to their organization’s success. And whilst CFOs acknowledge the problem, there’s dissent in the ranks. 57% of CFOs somewhat agree that budget limitations stop employees from travelling as much as they need to do their jobs well, while just 22% strongly agree.
Kristen Hrycoy, Senior Global Partner Business Manager at SAP Concur says “These findings highlight the points of contention between travellers, travel managers, and CFOs, for the first time in our Global Business Travel Survey. To empower employees to develop professionally and create new opportunities on the road, it’s vital that every role in the organization aligns on common goals.”
Explore more insights in the seventh annual SAP Concur Global Business Travel Survey.
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This entry was posted on July 15, 2025 at 11:36 am and is filed under Commentary with tags SAP. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Guest Post – Turbulence ahead: New SAP Concur research reveals five travel topics that divide business stakeholders
Business travel is up in the air. The toss-up between cost-savings, employee safety, and the value of in-person interaction is an ongoing boardroom debate. In the age of virtual calls, many employees are desperate to hit the road, while others prefer to conduct their business via digital channels.
Whichever side of the fence you fall on, business travel remains vital to build working relationships and drive growth. Yet, there are certain topics relating to company travel initiatives that stakeholders don’t quite agree on. To understand the perspectives, challenges, and opportunities, it’s vital that leaders know where the disconnects lie.
The latest Global Business Travel Survey from SAP Concur asked Canadian business travellers, travel managers, and chief financial officers (CFOs) about friction points in business travel. These are the main areas of disagreement:
Kristen Hrycoy, Senior Global Partner Business Manager at SAP Concur says “These findings highlight the points of contention between travellers, travel managers, and CFOs, for the first time in our Global Business Travel Survey. To empower employees to develop professionally and create new opportunities on the road, it’s vital that every role in the organization aligns on common goals.”
Explore more insights in the seventh annual SAP Concur Global Business Travel Survey.
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This entry was posted on July 15, 2025 at 11:36 am and is filed under Commentary with tags SAP. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.