Almost half of Spanish companies expect to increase budgets for travel in 2024, because the vast majority of Spanish senior managers consider that increasing spending on this item ends up having a very positive impact on the company’s income. The report on the ‘Value of Business Travel’ prepared by the TravelPerk platform presented this week in Barcelona shows the importance of travel for the evolution of the business of companies in Spain. In fact, almost 70% of Spanish senior managers recognize that increasing the travel budget has a positive impact on their company’s income. Data from the report shows that almost half (48%) of the 500 managers surveyed expect their travel budgets to increase in 2024, with an average expected increase of 15%, mainly aimed at expanding their activities. The main drivers of this year’s budget are new business development, in-person meetings and company gatherings. Spanish senior managers attribute 29% of their company’s total sales growth in 2023 to in-person meetings. 68% of managers agree that investing in business trips allows them to increase their market share and 75% also consider it key to building solid relationships with clients. For SMEs and medium-sized companies, every euro invested in business trips generates incremental income of around eleven euros, driven mainly by the acquisition of new clients. TRAVEL AS A WAY OF ATTRACTING WORKERS. In Spain, 82% of managers say that advertising business travel opportunities in job descriptions makes the position more attractive. In fact, 62% of business travelers say that traveling for work makes them more likely to stay at their current job. This percentage is even higher among Generation Z, where 73% say that business travel influences their decision to stay with the company. With all this, the majority (83%) of Spanish employees affirm that in-person social events increase “their morale and commitment.” This is why half (50%) of travel administrators and managers in the region say that their company’s budget for connecting employees in real life has increased in the last year, above their counterparts in Germany (36 %) and even in the United States (40%). The TravelPerk report ensures that half of Spanish workers have extended their work trips when allowed, far above those in the United Kingdom (32%) and Germany (46%), driving the phenomenon known as ‘bleisure’. ‘that is, the mix of leisure and business trips.
