Global executives believe business travel will be more important to drive success than ever before but the future of corporate trips depends largely on travel regulations, according to a new study by private jet operator VistaJet and WSJ Intelligence.
Some 81 per cent of business leaders surveyed emphasised the importance of business travel, indicating that a year of lockdowns have built up appetite for travel as companies gradually return staff to offices, the joint report titled, The Future of Business Travel: Driving Global Success, said.
Six in 10 respondents expect more in-person meetings in the future, compared to a typical year before the pandemic.
Among frequent private jet travellers who take eight or more private flights a year, 60 per cent plan to significantly increase in-person meetings, compared with 38 per cent of total respondents.
Business travel has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic that shut borders, forced millions to work remotely and prompted companies to slash costs. Corporate travel is vital for airlines. Although it makes up just 12 per cent of airline passenger traffic, it accounts for roughly 20 to 30 per cent of airline revenue, according to the CAPA Centre for Aviation.
Of the reasons most likely cited for taking a private jet flight, 55 per cent of respondents said they would fly to save a client relationship worth more than $5 million.
Closing a deal worth more than $5m or attending an extremely important conference, such as the World Economic Forum, also ranked as priorities for a private flight among 46 per cent and 45 per cent of respondents, respectively.
"Some activities – where chemistry counts – simply cannot be done via a screen," the report said.
Future business travel depends largely on regulations, with 46 per cent of respondents waiting for destinations to reopen and 42 per cent wanting updated Covid-19 data and regulations for their destinations, the report said.
Some 36 per cent want improved support in case regulations change while they are on a trip and another 36 per cent are waiting for their companies’ travel policies to relax, the findings show.
Some executives are concerned about flexibility in travel – changing or cancelling their plans, booking at the last minute, or emergency repatriation if regulations should change mid-trip.
Cancelling business trips has caused companies to miss opportunities and their operations to take a hit.
Only 10 per cent of respondents said their companies had not restricted business travel, versus 27 per cent who said their companies allowed none at all, the report said.
Yet 97 per cent said their companies experienced negative impact directly related to business travel restrictions.
A third of the companies saw missed opportunities (34 per cent) and fewer deals closed (33 per cent).
“Some business travel is truly essential and having to forgo in-person trips came at a real cost to companies: any savings in travel budgets were exceeded by the cost of missed opportunities, sometimes worth several millions," Matteo Atti, executive vice president of marketing and innovation at VistaJet, said.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
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- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
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Rating: 4/5
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England v West Indies
England squad for the first Test Cook, Stoneman, Westley, Root (captain), Malan, Stokes, Bairstow, Moeen, Roland-Jones, Broad, Anderson, Woakes, Crane
Fixtures
1st Test Aug 17-21, Edgbaston
2nd Test Aug 25-29, Headingley
3rd Test Sep 7-11, Lord's
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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'Tell the Machine Goodnight' by Katie Williams
Penguin Randomhouse
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
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Sardor Rashidov, Uzbekistan
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Canada
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
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Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
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On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
360Vuz PROFILE
Date started: January 2017
Founder: Khaled Zaatarah
Based: Dubai and Los Angeles
Sector: Technology
Size: 21 employees
Funding: $7 million
Investors: Shorooq Partners, KBW Ventures, Vision Ventures, Hala Ventures, 500Startups, Plug and Play, Magnus Olsson, Samih Toukan, Jonathan Labin
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs: Aston Martin DB11 V8 vs Ferrari GTC4Lusso T
Price, base: Dh840,000; Dh120,000
Engine: 4.0L V8 twin-turbo; 3.9L V8 turbo
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic; seven-speed automatic
Power: 509hp @ 6,000rpm; 601hp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 695Nm @ 2,000rpm; 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
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Eyasses squad
Charlie Preston (captain) – goal shooter/ goalkeeper (Dubai College)
Arushi Holt (vice-captain) – wing defence / centre (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Olivia Petricola (vice-captain) – centre / wing attack (Dubai English Speaking College)
Isabel Affley – goalkeeper / goal defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Jemma Eley – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Alana Farrell-Morton – centre / wing / defence / wing attack (Nord Anglia International School)
Molly Fuller – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Caitlin Gowdy – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Noorulain Hussain – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai College)
Zahra Hussain-Gillani – goal defence / goalkeeper (British School Al Khubairat)
Claire Janssen – goal shooter / goal attack (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Eliza Petricola – wing attack / centre (Dubai English Speaking College)
TV (UAE time);
OSN Sports: from 10am
