What Is Corporate Travel's Next Act?
There are the doomsayers out there predicting corporate travel will never recover to 2019 levels and that a high percentage of meetings and events will remain virtual. Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, is probably the most high-profile proponent of this with a downbeat forecast that 50% of business travel will not return. Of course, it may well suit him and his businesses to support this view. Then there are those with a more optimistic perspective - the firm believers in the need to get out in the world and meet people face-to-face, especially in the corporate world. Among this group are airline and hotel leaders who argue that while recovery in corporate travel will take time, it will return. The respective CEOs of EasyJet , Emirates and United Airlines have all been vocal on the issue. Some even say there could be more business travel driven by the remote working trend. (This also increases the advantages of corporate travel planners , just by the way…) Whoever is...