Gen Z & the State of Business Travel
Published 31 July 2024
Companies that offer opportunities for business travel are more likely to attract Gen Z talent, according to a new study by Spanish travel management company TravelPerk. Nearly half (49%) of the 18- to 26-year-olds asked said they would like to travel more often for work, compared to 31% of those aged 27+.
At A Glance
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This youthful cohort sees business travel as an opportunity to see more of the world, with 79% saying they want to travel for work to explore more places (compared to 72% of millennials and 60% of Gen Xers), and 41% saying they’d like their employer to extend their trip time. Wellbeing on these work trips is also important to them, with 34% saying they’d like to be able to expense activities like yoga and exercise classes – see Wellness Travel Trends 24/25 for more on wellbeing-centred travel more broadly.
This generation also recognises the importance of face-to-face business travel interactions for developing their early career development, including building networking skills (70%), boosting professional confidence (67%), increasing visibility (65%), strengthening skillsets (62%), and bettering relationships with more senior colleagues (61%).
It appears that companies are paying attention; of the 2,000 companies surveyed, 49% expect their business travel budgets to increase in 2024, compared to 2023, with those in the travel and tourism (60%), tech (57%) and environment and agriculture (54%) industries most likely to do so. US businesses are more likely than European ones to increase their business travel budgets (61% compared to 44%).
In addition to employee retention, travel is being regarded as being vital to business function, with 91% of business-travel decision makers believing they would lose existing customers without in-person meetings, whilst expansion into new markets (47%) and conferences and events (45%) were the top reasons given for increasing budgets.
For Stylus’ most recent reporting on the future of work, read Reframing Trade Professions: New Work Pathways, Internet 101: The World of Work and 10 Work & Productivity Trends to Watch 2024.