The number of German companies allowing unlimited business travel has grown in the past two weeks, according to the latest survey of buyer sentiment by the German Business Travel Association.
The VDR survey, carried out every two weeks, shows that 4.2 per cent of companies are now allowing all business travel, up from 2.4 per cent two weeks ago and 1.1 per cent in mid-December.
The number of companies not permitting intercontinental business travel has also fallen in the same period, from 32.7 per cent two weeks ago to 23.3 per cent now.
German travel buyers are also becoming more confident about the resumption of business travel. More than a quarter (25.8 per cent) now say they think their company¡¯s internal travel restrictions will be removed by the end of the first half of 2021, up from 20.2 per cent two weeks ago and 17.1 per cent in mid-December.
The research also revealed that 82.2 per cent of companies say their travellers are using cars more often for business trips within Germany.
However, more travel buyers are beginning to feel that the pandemic will have a permanent effect on the level of business travel. More than two thirds (67.1 per cent) say they expect the number of business trips to decrease by between 10 and 30 per cent. This proportion has been gradually increasing since the study first started.