Business travel will never be what it was before the pandemic. The idea has been around for several months, but it continues to consolidate over time. Bloomberg recently surveyed 45 large multinational companies in the US, Europe and Asia and 84% responded that they will reduce their travel budgets. The majority of respondents will reduce their budgets by 20% to 40% from their pre-pandemic levels. The accessibility and efficiency of virtual tools, the opportunity to reduce costs and the goals of reducing their companies' carbon footprints are the main reasons for this reduction.

According to the Global Business Travel Association, corporate travel spending could drop from a pre-pandemic ceiling reached in 2019 of US$1.43 trillion (million billion) to US$1.24 trillion in 2024.

This is very bad news for airlines, which generate two-thirds of their profits from business travelers, even though they account for only 12% of seats sold, according to a PwC study cited by Bloomberg. It is also a blow to the hotel sector, which could see its revenues fall by 18% due to the reduction in business travel.