The availability of a Covid-19 vaccine will be a "significant factor" in more than six in 10 organizations' decisions to resume business travel, according to a new survey of travel managers and procurement professionals by the Global Business Travel Association.
About 61 percent of the 353 respondents polled online Dec. 7-14 by GBTA indicated vaccine availability would be a "significant factor" in that decision-making process, while another 23 percent called it a "moderate factor." Only 2 percent of respondents thought vaccines wouldn't be a factor, while the rest didn't know.
A Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech has been approved for emergency use in several countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union. A second vaccine, developed by Moderna, has been approved by the U.S. for emergency use. Approvals for other vaccines are pending; China and Russia have approved vaccines developed in those countries. U.S. distribution remains limited.
Travel buyer respondents were less sure of their companies' stances regarding vaccines for business travelers. About 8 percent of respondents said their organizations' employees would be permitted to travel once vaccinated, while another 21 percent said their organizations also would require "a significant portion of the population" to receive the vaccine before granting permission to travel. About 12 percent indicated their companies would require only a significant portion of the population to be vaccinated for travel, while 59 percent didn't know.
Meanwhile, 39 percent of travel buyer respondents said their organizations had started to plan to hold or to attend meetings in 2021.