Corporates need to do more to address the specific needs of travellers from minority groups, according to a new survey from Business Travel Show Europe.

A poll of 115 travel buyers examined the special considerations provided to travellers from the LGBTQ+ community, those with accessibility requirements, neurodivergent employees and solo female travellers.

More than half of buyers (55 per cent) said they do not currently provide any specific considerations for their LGBTQ+ travellers, with only 9 per cent saying they plan to change this policy during the current year.

Meanwhile, only 15 per cent take into account the needs of neurodivergent?travellers, despite this group now making up an estimated 20 per cent of the global population. Although 12 per cent of respondents said they plan to change this during 2025.

When it comes to travellers with accessibility requirements, only 35 per cent of buyers said they currently offer this group special consideration within their travel policies and programmes. This figure is even lower for solo female travellers with only 29 per cent taking into account their specific needs.

Carolyn Pearson, CEO of business travel safety specialist Maiden Voyage, said: ¡°The findings are concerning given that we are seeing increased risk to minority groups of travellers.

¡°We know that women face specific challenges related to pregnancy (such as Zika virus exposure), varying airline fit-to-fly protocols and menopause supplements that are illegal in some countries.

¡°Likewise LGBTQ+ employees face severe safety threats and travellers with disabilities face unique challenges related to accessibility and accommodation, sometimes leading to serious disruptions to their travel plans.¡±

Jonathan Carter-Chapman, marketing director at Business Travel Show Europe, added that the survey illustrated there was ¡°still important work to be done to support minority groups when it comes to travelling for business¡±.

¡°For travel managers and corporates to unlock the potential of our minority groups, they need to take a more inclusive approach to corporate travel policies, programmes and reporting to understand where and how they can make a contribution to corporate growth,¡± he said.

Business Travel Show Europe, which takes place at London¡¯s ExCeL exhibition centre on 25-26 June, will include a session on ¡®Sustainability and other ESG strategies that work¡¯ to help buyers create more inclusive travel policies and programmes.