eu travel tech Holds Debate on the Role that Business Travel Can Play in Supporting the Green Transition
Business travel represents one of the core segments of the travel industry, it accounted for around 20% of all travel spending before the COVID pandemic hit, and it can play a key role in making this industry more sustainable. Business travel also represents a powerful driver to foster economic growth within and across national borders and to connect people globally. Many organizations are increasingly demanding sustainable travel options as part of their environmental commitments and are looking at travel management companies to help them achieve these goals, in line with the European Union ambition towards greening travel.
In this regard, eu travel tech held an insightful discussion on 30 September hosting the webinar “Business Travel: A Catalyst for the Green Transition in Travel and Tourism”. The webinar was an opportunity to hear from representatives from the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the travel industry on the EU sustainable ambitions on travel and tourism and the role that organizations and travel intermediaries can play to achieve this objective. Please find out more here.
The discussion highlighted the changes brought by the pandemic with virtual meetings expected to replace on average 27% of 2022 travel volume. On the other hand, it was stressed that the role that business travel plays as a driver of social and economic growth should not to be overlooked. The focus – speakers pointed out – should be on supporting organizations to identify and choose sustainable travel solutions. As such, it would be crucial to finance innovation to boost the green transition and the use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) to help reduce air travel emissions. The speakers agreed on the necessity of regulating and allowing multimodal ticketing to ensure that greener and more sustainable travel options can be indeed effectively evaluated and chosen by customers, increasing at the same time the transparency of the booking process. Moreover, the importance of the modal shift from aviation to rail was also underlined during the event, stressing the great potential of rail transport to provide innovative and sustainable travel solutions for business travellers.
As the European Commission moves forward with its ambitious sustainability agenda, the travel tech sector will be closely following – and contributing to – the debate around supporting a shift towards a more sustainable travel and tourism ecosystem. In this regard, the upcoming Multimodal Digital Mobility Services initiative will be essential to promote a shift from air to rail and to allow for greater comparability of different travel options, giving full visibility to more sustainable travel solutions.
