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

Even as business travel makes a recovery, high airfares remain an area of concern with executives at most companies.

“Business travel is on the rise. People have started realising that everything doesn’t work on the digital platform. That they also need to meet up to connect,” the president of Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) – the country’s largest travel association – and director New Airways Travel told Business Today Monday.

The prevailing high airfares were leading companies to book air tickets in advance and undertake travel only when it’s absolutely necessary. Consequently, only 30 per cent of the total number of executives entitled to travel were taking business trips.

“Earlier, if 10 people were allowed to travel, it’s 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.

However, this gradual revival was resulting in a recovery in India’s outbound as well as inbound segments.

“We have seen a significant boost in demand for business travel – whether domestic or international sectors in the 65:35 per cent ratio, respectively. Additionally, we have witnessed a spike of 20-25 per cent in inquiries for flights to long-haul destinations such as the US, Sydney and Canada,” said the co-founder & COO of corporate travel & head of industry relations at the online travel agency (OTA) Yatra Online, Sabina Chopra.

Government or public sector employees (64 per cent) followed by personnel working 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, said a recent American Express study.

The study also said that more meetings and events being conducted virtually was preventing a full bounce-back in business travel, adding that 77 per cent of businesses were expected to increase their travel budgets in 2023.

“We find that it is either the companies that have started recovering well post the Covid-19 pandemic or those who are still struggling, are the ones travelling. Those who continue to be in a comfortable position continue to have a go-slow policy on business travel,” said Mayal.

She earnestly hoped that airfares would maintain at current levels.

“With prices climbing up minute by minute, the element of uncertainty may again return to the travel business,” worried Mayal.

Also Read: Airlines misguiding passengers, forcing them to pay more: Parliamentary panel