Business travel ‘might never recover from the pandemic’
BUSINESS travel may never be the same post-Covid, the head of the island’s finance industry body has said.
Paul Hodgson, chairman of the Guernsey International Business Association, said that travel habits changed during Covid and budget pressures had also impacted travel.
He said that while people still needed to get off the island to interact with clients, business travel had not returned to pre-pandemic levels.
‘Business trips will not necessarily be undertaken with the same cavalier attitude as in the past,’ he said.
Mr Hodgson added that reliability was also crucial to the industry, because of the cost and disruption to business of an extra night in London due to a delay.
‘Being able to travel out and back in a day and be confident that you’re going to get back is important.’
Mr Hodgson was a panellist for the Institute of Directors’ July business breakfast, which focused on the future of Guernsey’s air links.
Passenger figures have recovered to 71% of pre-pandemic levels in Guernsey in the first five months of 2022, against a global average of 62%, said Aurigny CEO Nico Bezuidenhout, although he, too, was more pessimistic about business travel figures because he was not sure to what extent they would fully return.
Mr Bezuidenhout was also on the panel with Deputy Mark Helyar, who said that post-Covid, Guernsey was still seen as a safe jurisdiction to travel to, a reason why tourism figures were strong.
The panellists were also asked which London – or other – airports would be most beneficial for the island.
Mr Hodgson and Deputy Helyar both said that from a business perspective, London City had excellent connectivity, not just for London but for short-haul links to Switzerland and Germany. BA currently operates seasonal twice-weekly flights to the airport from Guernsey.
In response to a member of the audience suggesting that BA could operate early morning flights to coincide with business travellers’ demands, Aurigny CEO Nico Bezuidenhout said that there was nothing to stop them operating more frequently now.
While onward connections, especially long haul, from Heathrow were excellent, Mr Bezuidenhout pointed out that it was one of the most expensive airports in the world to operate from.
