3 Themes Corporate Travel Managers Need to Focus On During 2021


Skift Take

With fundamental changes to travel habits and patterns on the horizon, this is a profession that stands to be completely reinvented too.

Coronavirus, obviously, is front of mind as we dive into a new year, but dig a little deeper and there are other pressing matters that travel managers, and their agencies, will be facing. Some are new, such as the impact of remote working, while others have been bubbling away for some time, like travel’s environmental impact — a hot topic until the pandemic struck. Skift talked to some of the sector’s movers and shakers for their take of what’s in store. Grasping New Technology, Reinventing a Role The pace at which new technologies and platforms were adopted in 2020 was unnerving. It's more than people switching to Zoom, because the lull in business travel and meetings freed up time for many travel tech startups to innovate. Overall, technology is designed to drive efficiency, and make lives easier, but at the same time it worries some travel managers. Are they going to be replaced by robots? "The responsibilities of a corporate travel manager will become fewer â€