Business Travel Picks, Up Momentum After Covid Pandemic: Report

After a lull of almost two years due to Covid pandemic, business travel in India has picked up momentum, according to a report by travel and hospitality technology platform OYO. As per OYO's mid-year business travel report, sustained momentum is now visible in business travel with a jump-start in business activities across all industries since January 2022. "Within the business travel category, the three biggest constituents are corporate employees at 29 per cent, small business owners at 17.7 per cent and government employees at 12.3 per cent," OYO said in a statement.

The survey carried out among 1,300 people from June 25-30 this year also found that Delhi was the most preferred destination for business travellers, closely followed by Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderabad. In terms of age profile, OYO said recovery in business travel was led by the younger generation with 43 per cent in the 20-24 years age bracket, followed by 25-30 years (34.5 per cent) and 31-45 years (18.6 per cent). "It is interesting to note that after months of virtual meetings and telephonic conversations, younger business travellers such as college graduates and those who have just joined the workforce or business, such as traders and small enterprises, are more enthusiastic about returning to face-to-face interactions," OYO said.

OYO Senior Vice President, Product & Chief Service Officer, Shreerang Godbole said, "While 'bleisure' -- work from anywhere and domestic vacations -- was the key travel reasons in the initial part of the unlock travel, business travel has revived since the earlier part of this year and the momentum continues to build steadily." Stating that business travel is dependable and has the least seasonal influence as a category, he said, "The revival seems to be equally strong lately, be it companies, small and medium businesses or public sector travellers. We expect this segment to continue growing even further in the near future.

" According to the survey, the construction industry is at the forefront of business travel at 16 per cent followed by a diverse range of businesses such as transportation, clothing, electronics, IT and healthcare. In terms of frequency of travel, 29 per cent of those interviewed said they travelled once a month, 25 per cent once in three months and 21 per cent once a week.

As for the duration, 73 per cent said they travelled for 3 days, 19 per cent for 3 to 7 days and only 4 per cent travelled for more than a week. "Out of the total respondents, 52 per cent said safety is their top priority while booking a stay. Hygiene remains a top concern for 48 per cent of the business travellers and 45 per cent travellers book their stay on the basis of offers and discounts available to them," OYO said.

(PTI)