Business trips are gaining momentum – Kommersant FM
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The turnover of the business transportation segment in Russia will double by the end of 2023 compared to the past. According to estimates of the Union of Business Travel Agencies, the figure will exceed 800 billion rubles. Analysts note that by September the number of business trips was greater than in the entire pre-pandemic 2019.
Since then, both the popular directions of business tourism and the cost of such trips have changed, says MTA Travel General Director Dmitry Goncharov:
“Tickets have risen in price by at least 30%. There is an official provision for civil servants; they are required to fly with Russian airlines. Only if there is no direct flight from a domestic carrier can they use the services of a foreign one.
If we compare the number of events in Europe a year and a half ago and now, it is practically zero. But a reorientation is underway. At the moment, overseas assignments are in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.”
If previously the centers of business activity were France, Germany and Kazakhstan, then in 2023 the top three most popular destinations for business trips included China, Turkey and Serbia. The last two countries have become the main transfer air hubs for Russians.
At the same time, some travel agents note that companies have begun to save money by sending their employees to negotiations. For example, the number of uncategorized hotel bookings increased, and the share of business class tickets decreased threefold. You can often meet a top manager of a large company in an economy cabin or even on a low-cost airline flight. There are indeed more such affordable packages now than usual, but this is not due to budget cuts, noted Yulia Lipatova, managing director of the Aeroclub business tourism agency:
“There were fewer international companies, they were more loyal, and often provided business class not only to top managers. Now 90-95% of destinations are from Russia. At the same time, for a short flight, for example, from Moscow to St. Petersburg or Sochi, a business class ticket is either not included, or it is purchased only for management, so the share decreases. But there is no tendency for companies to save more than before.
We have quite a lot of large corporate clients, and in the middle of the year they had to renegotiate the budget, because in August it had already been spent, as more projects appeared and business activity increased.
At the same time, corporations everywhere are expanding their spending on business travel.”
Travel packages within Russia have risen in price by an average of 16% over the past year, as follows from an analysis of the Aviasales for Business service. At the same time, the number of trips increased by about a quarter, said Svetlana Likhacheva, representative of Aviasales for Business:
“The average bill for business trips has increased by 16% since last year and amounted to just over 39 thousand rubles. This includes the cost of flights, hotels and daily allowances for four days – the average length of business trips in Russia. Moreover, the total budget for them has increased by 35% since 2022, and the number has increased by 22%.
Most often, representatives of such industries as construction, advertising, computer software development, industrial production and sports fly on business trips. Where do they fly most often? In the top, of course, are Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Yekaterinburg, Ufa, Kazan, Novorossiysk, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk and Samara. It’s interesting that in 2022, the top popular business destinations also included Omsk and Novy Urengoy.”
The main feature of this year was the combination of a work trip and a vacation. According to hotel booking service Bronevik.com, every fourth business trip takes place on weekends. And company leaders support this trend. This is believed to be especially motivating for zoomer employees.
Everything is clear with us – Telegram channel “Kommersant FM”.
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