Business travellers largely feel positive about eventually getting out on the road again in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, but the vast majority expect travel to look and feel very different than it did before the pandemic, a new study from SAP Concur found.

Conducted between 20 May and 9 June 2020 in partnership with Wakefield Research, Concur's survey canvassed 4,850 business travellers and 800 travel managers in a total of 23 markets across the globe, seeking insight into respondents' attitudes, concerns and priorities regarding the resumption of business travel.

Travellers generally had mixed feelings about the return of travel, with 39 per cent reporting at least some worry about their next business trip. However, 59 per cent identified at least one positive emotion associated with the prospect, with 32 per cent even saying they were excited to hit the road again. Among other emotions cited by respondents were anxiousness (30 per cent), relief (24 per cent), encouragement (23 per cent) and eagerness (20 per cent).

Regardless of sentiment about the return of corporate travel, the overwhelming majority of respondents expected a "new normal" to prevail, even after official Covid-related restrictions and policies are lifted. Among travellers polled, 97 per cent expected new hygiene and safety behaviours to persist for the long term. About 54 per cent said they would wear face masks during travel, while 52 per cent anticipated access to hand sanitisers becoming standard. Meanwhile, 47 per cent expected social distancing to become the norm and 41 per cent anticipated routine temperature screenings.

Hygiene concerns could also affect travellers' booking decisions, the study found, with 29 per cent prioritising the shortest route to a destination when deciding on a flight. That sentiment among travellers could force companies to rethink the concept of lowest logical fares in the context of their travel policy to allow for more direct flights over lower cost multi-legged itineraries, Concur said.

Along with travellers, corporate travel managers also expect major post-Covid changes, the survey found. Among managers polled, 98 per cent expected both short-term and long-term changes to their corporate travel policies. Managers' most widely expected new measures include mandatory personal health screenings for travellers (44 per cent), mandatory travel safety trainings (43 per cent) and pre-trip approval (40 per cent). Managers also anticipated giving travellers more leeway in rebooking or changing travel plans quickly (38 per cent) and limiting business travel to only the most critical trips (37 per cent), the study found.