5 challenges threaten Singapore workers’ willingness to engage in business travel

Seven in 10 workers consider business travel essential for career advancement.

Nearly three-quarters of Singapore workers (72%) consider business travel essential for career advancement, but five factors are discouraging them from taking such trips.

Amongst these factors is the threat of disruption.

A recent SAP Concur survey found that 95% of Singapore business travellers experienced last-minute travel changes in the past year caused by delays, cancellations, or re-routing. 

As a result, 98% are incorporating 'booking buffers' at the start or end of their trips to counteract unforeseen schedule changes.

"Organisations should consider allowing travellers extra turnaround time for each booking, private connecting transport, and adding features to travel management tools to allow easy rebooking when disruptions take place," SAP Concur said.

Meanwhile, organisations that have cut down on business travel budgets have also affected employees' willingness to travel.

Cost-saving measures are threatening the growing trend of combining leisure and business travel, or "bleisure," according to SAP Concur.

Additionally, over 29% of Singapore companies are restricting employees' ability to work remotely whilst travelling for leisure or combining personal travel with business trips.

Singapore employees value the opportunity for "bleisure," with 20% saying they would decline a business trip if they couldn't extend it for personal travel, and 27% indicating they would refuse if they couldn't make adjustments outside of company policy.

Other factors contributing to employees' reluctance to travel include safety concerns (38%) and political or social issues (38%) at the destination.

Sustainability concerns are also influencing employees' willingness to travel for business.

SAP Concur revealed that 32% of Singapore business travellers are willing to reject a business trip due to its environmental impact or the lack of sustainable options.

Whilst 30% indicated a reduction in spending on sustainable travel, other employees noted that their company still prioritizes these options.

Unequal access, influenced by seniority (24%), age (16%), and gender (8%), is another factor hindering business travel for some employees.

Some employees are hesitant to travel when AI is used for bookings, with just 3% expressing comfort with AI-enabled options. 

Despite this, most are still open to using AI for travel arrangements (98%).

 However, 95% of employees seek greater company support, particularly assurances around data protection, bias prevention, and safeguarding against repercussions if AI bookings conflict with company policy.