Has business travel really changed forever?
From reading comments in a number of threads, I can't help but notice that some people firmly believe that COVID has changed business travel forever. I'm not sure I agree so wanted to chuck my two pence in and see what others think. I'm a modular student in my 30's and currently work in an organization with a few thousand employees across a number of sites in the UK as well as a few overseas. So I'm giving this from the perspective of someone who does occasionally travel for work.
There are of course plenty of instances where someone absolutely must travel as part of their job such as engineers installing equipment, performing maintenance etc. and short of some significant advances in technology that won't change for some time.
So yes, businesses across the world have been forced to use meeting tools such as Teams, Zoom etc. and I really wouldn't be surprised if a hybrid working model becomes the norm for a lot of places. For the organization I work for, online meeting tools such have been the norm for many years. However, there are plenty of occasions where people would get together in a room as opposed to an online meeting for the simple fact that some things work better this way. Nothing can really replace human contact for the same reason having a couple of beers with a mate at the pub is far better than over a video chat. It just isn't the same, is it?
To give another example, I'll often attend training courses as part of my job. I can choose to attend these in person or over video link in the comfort of my own home. When the video link option became available a few years ago, I thought I'd give it a try for convenience sake. Whilst it technically worked well etc. it just wasn't the same. Without actually being there, I felt more like a spectator than part of the session and it just wasn't as engaging. Other peers have felt the same and I've since preferred to attend these in person.
I imagine that there are some companies that have never ventured into online conferencing etc. and COVID will have forced them to change, I would guess these must be in the minority these days though.
To summarize, whilst online conferencing is technically great and has served as a workaround over the past year or so, I think it's just that; a workaround. I'm not sure there will be a dramatic shift. Companies are obliged to provide a safe working environment for employees, but when the risk is no longer there or negligible, I can personally see travel returning to close to normal.
What are other people's thoughts?