by Alyssa Jaffer

At a time of year when travel in Europe is usually at its peak, we’re seeing signs of finally moving into a post-pandemic period—fewer face masks and less frequent proof of negative tests required, though there is continued travel disruption due to staff shortages and cancelled flights. But through it all, we want to pack a bag, hop on a plane and find ourselves in a new world, be it as business traveller or tourist.

Despite our growing appetite to go abroad, the tourism industry is still feeling the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. The World Economic Forum (WEF) has recently released its latest report, Travel & Development Index 2021: Rebuilding for a Sustainable and Resilient Future, revealing insights on how the travel and tourism sector will recover through the setbacks of the past two years.

Amongst its key results, the study found that of the top 10 economies at the forefront of tourism development, six are in Europe—including Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Italy.

As economies recover from the repercussions of the pandemic and confront new challenges such as the war in Ukraine, rising cost of living and record increases in inflation—what can we expect from the wider travel industry and the business tourism sector in particular over the coming year?

What’s clear is that in the face of obstacles, the sector will need to innovate, serve the demands of new customer segments and crucially, rethink traditional business travel.

The WEF report said: “In the shorter term, challenges such as reduced capacity, geopolitical tensions and labour shortages are slowing recovery. However, opportunities have been created in markets such as domestic and nature-based tourism, the rise of digital nomads and ‘bleisure’ (the addition of leisure activities to business trips)”.

As part of its coverage on the Travel & Development Index, the WEF asked leaders and experts in the industry to share their outlook on the long road ahead to recovery for tourism and hospitality businesses.

“Despite the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the future looks bright for travel and tourism,” said Tony Capuano, CEO of Marriott International. 

“The way many of us live and work has changed because of the pandemic and the way we travel has changed as well. New categories of travel have emerged. The rise of ‘bleisure’ travel is one example—combining elements of business and leisure travel into a single trip. 

“Newly flexible work arrangements, including the opportunity for many knowledge workers to work remotely, have created opportunities for extended travel, not limited by a Monday to Friday ‘9 to 5’ workweek in the office,” Capuano said.

“We’re on the verge of a travel renaissance,” said Steve Kaufer, Co-founder and former CEO of Tripadvisor. “The pandemic might have interrupted the global travel experience, but people are slowly coming out of the bubble. Businesses need to acknowledge the continued desire to feel safe when travelling. But travel will also evolve in other ways, and as an industry, we need to be prepared to think digitally, and reimagine our use of physical space.

“Hotels will become dynamic meeting places for teams to bond in our new hybrid work style. Lodgings near major corporate headquarters will benefit from an influx of bookings from employees convening for longer periods. They will also make way for the ‘bleisure’ traveller who mixes business trips with leisure. Hotels in unique locales will become feasible workspaces. Employers should prepare for their workers to tag on a few extra days to get some rest and relaxation after on-location company gatherings,” Kaufer said.

The WEF study advised: “To cater to these growing markets, [travel and tourism] businesses will have to become more flexible and create new, innovative products.”

Some key WEF findings on business tourism:

1. While the business travel sector is recovering, it has rebounded at a slower rate than leisure.

2. Factors such as workplace flexibility and the availability of virtual alternatives for in-person meetings are tempering demand and potentially leading to some permanent loss in corporate travel.

3. Many Tourism & Travel (T&T) segments are being forced to adapt; for example, operators in the MICE area may have to rely more on smaller and hybrid events.

4. T&T businesses and destinations are increasingly looking to capture opportunities offered by the changing nature of work. Over the course of the pandemic, more businesses have gone virtual and an increasing share of the labour force is becoming independent.

5. The trend in “bleisure” travel—the addition of leisure activities to business trips—is also growing.

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