Survey: Omicron Effect on Travel Restart Strategy Limited

Fewer than one in five travel buyers and procurement managers expect their organizations to introduce restrictions on nonessential business travel due to the emergence of the omicron variant of Covid-19, according to a new survey of Global Business Travel Association members. 

According to the survey, conducted Dec. 6-12 by GBTA, about 17 percent of the 345 buyer members surveyed cited new restrictions, with an additional 19 percent indicating their companies were considering new restrictions. About 53 percent indicated their companies had no plans to do so, with the rest unsure. 

Health officials have cited the emergence of the omicron variant, first observed last month in South Africa and subsequently found throughout the world, as a factor in rapidly increasing Covid-19 case count totals observed in the United States, Europe and elsewhere.

Several countries, including the United States, have revised entry procedures as a result of the variant’s emergence. 

About 23 percent of the GBTA member buyers surveyed indicated the omicron variant likely would disrupt their organizations’ plans to let employees attend in-person meetings.

The vast majority of the 309 GBTA member suppliers surveyed indicated they were concerned about the effect of the variant on business travel demand. Nearly 90 percent of suppliers said they anticipated omicron would have at least some negative impact on “revenue from business travelers and corporate travel customers,” while 37 percent of suppliers reported their bookings from corporate customers had declined in the two weeks following the variant’s emergence. 

Meanwhile, two-thirds of the full base of 732 respondents indicated countries should permit entry only to those international travelers who can prove they are fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Another 18 percent suggested unvaccinated travelers who have recovered from Covid-19 should be allowed entry, while 10 percent said there should be no entry restrictions.