High airfares led companies to book air tickets in advance, take travel only

The prevailing high airfares led companies to book air tickets in advance and take travel when absolutely necessary, with only 30 per cent of those who were entitled to travel on business trips.

While business travel is making a recovery, high airfares remain an area of concern for executives at most companies.

People have started realising that everything doesn't work on the digital platform. The president of the Travel Agents Association of India TAAI told Business Today that they also need to meet up to connect.

The prevailing high airfares led companies to book air tickets in advance and book travel only when it's absolutely necessary. Only 30 per cent of the total number of executives that were entitled to travel were business trips.

Earlier, if 10 people were allowed to travel, it is only three that are currently travelling, said Mayal during an interaction on the sidelines of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation summit in New Delhi.

This gradual revival resulted in a recovery in India's outbound and inbound segments.

The COO of corporate travel head of industry relations at the online travel agency OTA Yatra Online said that there was a surge of 20 -- 25 per cent in inquiries for flights to long-haul destinations, such as the US, Sydney and Canada.

In the second half of 2022, the government or public sector employees were 64 per cent followed by agents in marketing, sales, real estate, professional services and pharmaceuticals businesses. 36 per cent had taken international or domestic trips for work in the second half of 2022, according to a recent American Express study.

According to the study, more meetings and events being conducted virtually prevented a full bounce back in business travel and that 77 per cent of businesses were expected to increase their travel budgets in 2023.

We find it is either the companies that have started recovering well after the Covid-19 Pandemic or those that are still struggling. Mayal said that those who are in a comfortable position continue to have a go-slow policy on business travel.

She firmly hoped that airfares would keep up with the current levels.

Mayal was worried about the possibility of uncertainty returning to the travel business with prices going up minute by minute.