Industry Leaders Press the Need for Business Travel Comeback

A coalition of business leaders and the travel community came together to make the case for a return to business travel, meetings, exhibitions and events.

representatives of the Let’s Meet There Coalition, the U.S. Travel Association and the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance, as well as CLEAR delivered a message at the National Press Club highlighting the distinctions of professional in-person gatherings from other “large gatherings.”

The group cited dozens of events and exhibitions that have been safely conducted in recent months and noted tools and practices that help these events take place currently and in the future.

Industry leaders noted that it is crucial to the broader recovery of the U.S. economy that business travel return as the sector lags in its recovery.

Tourism Economics statistics show that business travel generated $270 billion in direct travel spending and supported 4 million U.S. jobs in 2019. In 2020, the sector declined by 68 percent. Projections indicate it will take three years to rebuild to pre-pandemic levels if no effort is made to help business travel rebound.

Toursim Economics also shared new analysis that identified the relationship between business travel and corporate performance for 14 industries over the past 26 years, showing that businesses experience an average gain of $1.60 in corporate profits for each dollar invested in business travel.

During the event, leaders also provided evidence for the safety of air travel and noted that professional meetings and exhibitions are structured events conducted under controlled environments allowing for maximum health and safety measures to protect participants, as evidenced by analysis from Ohio State University healthcare scientists.

Scientific modeling by the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance (ECA) and Epistemix has shown in-person professional meetings and events pose a near-zero (0.001%) risk of COVID-19 transmission to attendees—even for large events, due to the layered approach to mitigation strategies.

The group also presented research that showed that business travelers were also more likely to be vaccinated. According to Destination Analysts, 78 percent of Americans who have traveled for business in the last two years have been vaccinated, compared to 72 percent of American travelers overall.

Tools such as CLEAR Health Pass make these events possible, providing seamless ways for attendees and employees to upload and verify their health statuses at events.

“Every piece of evidence that we’re seeing from the scientific and academic community tells us that, with the right practices in place, the traveling workforce and organizers of professional events can get back to the business of reconnecting with clients and colleagues,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. “Ultimately, the business community will drive the return to business travel, and in doing so, will shift the economy back to greater normalcy.”

Dow was joined by other leaders, including Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics company; John Cordier, CEO and co-founder, Epistemix Inc.; Hervé Sedky, chair of the board, ECA and president and CEO, Emerald; and Caryn Seidman-Becker, co-founder, chairman and CEO, CLEAR.