The vast majority of businesses (93%) replaced domestic business trips with virtual meetings during the pandemic, according to new research from the Department for Transport (DfT).
The survey, conducted by Ipsos Mori, reveals that almost half (44%) of firms had replaced all trips, 41% half or more and 8% less than half. Just one in 14 – 7% of businesses replaced none. Half of businesses (50%) considered fully virtual meetings to be an adequate replacement for business trips; more than one-in-four (28%), however, did not. A slightly higher proportion (57%) agreed that meetings with a combination of virtual and face-to-face attendees were an adequate substitute for business trips. One-in-five (20%) disagreed.
The DfT survey suggests that proportion of employees travelling on business is expected to stay broadly the same post pandemic.
Companies expect an average of 38% of employees to be travelling for business, compared with 40% before the pandemic. Just 1% of the firms surveyed by Ipsos Mori said no employees will travel for face-to-face meetings.
The DfT data, however, suggests that the frequency of face-to-face meetings is expected to fall as virtual meetings will remain in the mix.
Two-fifths (41%) of companies said that they expect to make fewer business trips than before the pandemic (27% somewhat less, 14% far less) and more than a quarter (27%) expect to make more business trips (19% somewhat more, 8% far more).
Almost a third (30%) said they expected to make the same level of business trips.
Assuming restrictions are no longer in place, companies expect to be using a similar mix of main modes as before the pandemic, with a return to long-distance rail and domestic air travel, and a reduction in the proportion of car journeys compared to levels during the pandemic.
Companies said that they expect an average of 33% of trips to use car as their main mode of transport, compared with 29% pre-pandemic.
Meanwhile, 13% would choose to use long-distance rail as their main mode versus 15% pre-pandemic, and 11% would use domestic airlines compared with 14% before Covid-19 struck.
Photo by Martin Sanchez on Unsplash
