32369639 – businessman walking with trolley through the crowd on a business trip
According to a recent survey, a growing number of business travelers prefer to avoid interaction with people when on the road, at least until something goes wrong. The research by Egencia, Expedia’s business-travel arm, questioned nearly 5,000 business travelers in Europe, America and Australia. Half of them said they prefer to avoid human contact while traveling.
The study found this was not because business travelers are grumpy and antisocial (the survey noted that 70% of business travelers prefer work trips to their regular time in the office) – it’s just that technology is becoming increasingly important to them for every element of their trips.
Two-thirds want to be able to book and manage travel across all of their devices. Half want travel updates to arrive by text – a figure that rises to 63% among Americans, who consistently seek a larger role for technology than the other nationalities surveyed. And 43% (55% among Americans) are counting on artificial intelligence to improve their travel experience.
The study noted that in America, most people expect to be in charge of their own travel arrangements, which is often not the case elsewhere. Technology makes that much more convenient.
One way that travelers stay on top of their trips is through in-flight wi-fi. Forty-nine percent of the travelers surveyed said that wi-fi increases their productivity, even though only 29% are reimbursed for it.
Source: The Economist
