Why is business travel still important?

30 Mar 2021 · 6 MIN READ

Last updated: June 2026Business travel, also called corporate travel, refers to work-related trips taken by employees to meet clients, attend conferences, or collaborate with distributed teams. In an increasingly digital age, many are questioning the future of corporate travel. What will business travel look like, and will its significance to their business change? Often misguidedly interpreted as a perk, there has been a host of research undertaken into corporate travel's function and effectiveness. So, what is the importance of business travel?
Key takeaways
  • Business travel remains essential because humans are biologically wired for in-person connection and collaboration.
  • Face-to-face meetings build trust faster than digital communication and give you a competitive edge.
  • Corporate travel accelerates knowledge sharing and drives economic growth across regions.
  • In-person interactions foster innovation, creativity, and increased productivity.
  • Business travel takes many forms: sales trips, conferences, team offsites, AGMs, and training events.
  • Companies that prioritize travel programs often find it easier to scale and retain strong team relationships.

Why is business travel necessary in the digital age?

As human beings, we are wired biologically to be social. From ancient times we relied on each other and the knowledge we shared for our survival. Extensive research from UCLA has shown that we are evolving to become even more reliant on these social structures. Currently, the way we learn and work does not center around our social natures. However, according to Professor Matthew Lieberman in his 2013 book Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect (UCLA), if we shifted towards a more social approach, we could tap into a new level of potential within our brains. The social aspect of our minds is activated when doing business in person, and corporate travelers reap the benefits in various ways.

How does business travel contribute to economic growth?

According to the London School of Economics , the more a team operates virtually, the less effective it will be. One of the primary purposes of business travel is to share knowledge and ideas. Research has demonstrated that disseminating knowledge between people can be a slow process. To speed up the practice, we need to physically move the person (and therefore the knowledge) to different locations. Harvard University demonstrated that business travelers create economic growth through the information and ideas they share because different countries or regions naturally have expertise in varying areas of business.On a smaller scale, an example of this principle is this: imagine your company has separate silos, with teams that rarely interact with each other. Digital communication tends to be concise, and each team might not be aware of the aims or the issues the other team is facing. Meeting in person for a conference, for example, might allow each team an insight into their differing challenges, foster a greater understanding of each silo's place within the business, and enable breakthroughs that will create a more efficient workplace in the future. Both companies and economies will be keen for business travelers to get back on the road as the human connections forged during business trips create opportunities for innovation, creativity, and increased productivity.

How do face-to-face meetings give you a competitive edge?

Perhaps the most familiar face of business travel is the image of sales representatives traveling to secure business deals. In recent years, many sales activities moved online out of necessity. However, long-term in-person meetings and corporate travel are sure to remain essential. After all, the technology to host meetings online has been available for years. Yet organizations still prioritize large travel budgets, often including international air travel, to send corporate travelers to conduct face-to-face meetings.In-person meetings set you apart from competitors who rely on digital communication for both large and small businesses. Clients are far more likely to choose the company that has traveled to speak with them directly. It is easier to build trust, have frank and possibly tricky conversations, and negotiate the details of a business deal in person. And companies that continue to rely on digital meetings might lose out to competitors who opt to get their teams traveling again.

What are the different types of business travel?

Corporate travel is undertaken for various reasons, not simply to negotiate or secure business deals, and business travelers come in many forms:
  • Sales meetings – Traveling to meet prospects or clients to close deals and strengthen relationships.
  • Conferences and trade shows – Attending industry events to network, learn, and showcase your company.
  • Team offsites – Bringing distributed teams together to collaborate, brainstorm, and build connections.
  • AGMs and company events – Uniting colleagues for annual meetings, updates, and strategic planning.
  • Training and development – Traveling for workshops, certifications, or skill-building sessions.
  • Client relationship management – Visiting existing clients to maintain trust and explore new opportunities.
With more teams working remotely or scattered over long distances or varying time zones, business trips can also draw together distributed teams to build relationships and share their feedback. Off-site meetings can help foster new ideas, and team-building days can help improve communication while also acting as a perk after a successful quarter.This comes back to the idea of human connection. Businesses require a face-to-face dimension because we as people have an inherent need for interaction to thrive in all aspects of our lives. Companies built on teams that work together in person, at least in part, find it easier to scale. Trust is easier to build in real life, and communication easier to foster when not relying solely on video conferencing.

Business travel will remain essential for growing organizations

Despite the setbacks of recent years, work travel continues to be a vital part of any growing organization. In-person meetings build trust, accelerate knowledge sharing, drive economic growth, and give your company a competitive edge. Whether you're closing deals, uniting distributed teams, or attending industry events, face-to-face interaction delivers results that digital tools alone cannot match.Whether you are a small business or have a designated travel manager with a large team to coordinate, corporate travel management can be time-consuming. So how can you ensure your travel plans are straightforward, efficient, and include the flexibility you need? With Perk, the days of checking rates across multiple travel agencies are gone. Through Perk, you can handle your global work travel needs in one simple-to-use platform. A travel management system designed to make corporate travel more straightforward and help reduce travel costs. Plus, our customer care team is available 24/7, 365 days a year, with human support to ensure the best travel experience for your corporate travelers.
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