Global Report Details the Challenges Travel Managers Face

Travel managers are feeling the pressure. They’re contending with rising costs while striving to meet the changing needs and preferences of business travelers. They’re acutely aware of the importance of ensuring safety and trying to deliver environmentally friendly travel options. And many think the data and analytics they need to help meet their challenges often come up short. 

Those stressors are detailed in our 2023 SAP Concur Global Business Travel Managers Report, which SAP^® Concur^® produced in partnership with Wakefield Research. Informed by a survey of 700 travel managers across the globe, the report shares insights into current travel management trends and highlights key variations among regions including the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. 

• 47% of managers report their jobs are more stressful than a year ago, a 10% jump from 2022. 
• 99% expect their roles to become more challenging within the next year. 

Learn More About the Challenges Travel Managers Face 

Get the 2023 SAP Concur Global Business Travel Managers Report for more on safety, flexibility, sustainability, and other issues driving change in travel management. 

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Across challenges ranging from safety to emissions reporting to setting budgets to complying with regulations, many travel managers report they lack the timely information to manage those tasks. Overall, 98% of managers surveyed says lagging data and analytics make it harder to perform their jobs. That number highlights not only frustration but an opportunity to improve the tools they use. 

Ensuring Traveler Health and Safety 

Nearly all managers surveyed – 98% – think their companies will change travel policies in the coming months. A good number of them – 42% – anticipate changes that will help them track employees during their travel, with nearly 1 in 3 forecasting adjustments to help employees in marginalized groups feel safer. Overall, 37% see duty of care concerns as their top travel threat.

Getting Challenged by Getting Greener 

Just over 1 in 4 managers face growing pressure to report on emissions from travel, but almost 2 in 5 say lagging data and analytics make it harder to report on the company’s travel emission. The hunt for more sustainable business travel options, 37% of managers say, will complicate their jobs in the next year.

Seeking Greater Flexibility 

Whether from safety concerns, preference, or the desire to better control trip disruptions, business travelers want greater flexibility with bookings and other choices. That position can conflict with current travel policies and complicate the travel manager’s role. More than 3 in 10 managers, for example, see direct bookings as one of the top threats to their organization’s business travel. Still, many realize they’ll have to adapt, with 38% expecting policy changes to satisfy travelers’ demands for flexibility.  

Dig Deeper Into Findings 

Read the report for a more extensive look at where travel management is now and where it is headed, as well as thoughts on how the proper tools could help managers meet the challenges and lower the pressure in the process.