A new report has found that corporate travel managers expect 2024 to be a difficult year ahead as budget cuts and demands for flexibility clash.
In SAP Concur’s Sixth Annual Global Travel Managers Research Report it was found that 99% of travel managers worldwide anticipated a challenging year ahead.
The reason for this apprehension comes down to conflicting expectations from businesses. While business travellers are increasingly prioritising flexibility and work-life balance while travelling, 32% of companies surveyed said cutting down on business travel costs was their main focus.
91% of business travellers surveyed said they have seen their company cut back on allowing certain options in the past year.
36% of travel managers said they were struggling to reconcile expectations. Budget cuts were found to be prominent worldwide, with 42% of travel managers saying their biggest challenge in the upcoming year was company directives to cut travel costs.
Additionally, 41% of travel managers said they were likely to seek new opportunities in the next 12 months.
The survey was conducted among 600 travel managers, defined as individuals who direct or administer travel programmes for businesses in six markets across Europe, Asia, the UK, the US and Oceania.
