NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business / Companies / Airlines

Corporate Travel says business trips in and from New Zealand are coming back - gradually

Grant Bradley
By Grant Bradley
Deputy Editor - Business·NZ Herald·
3 Apr, 2022 05:00 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The world has opened up for business travel and more Kiwis are getting on board. Photo /123rf

The world has opened up for business travel and more Kiwis are getting on board. Photo /123rf

Kiwi business travellers are dipping their feet in international trips and it's a matter of "when not if" they return in big numbers, says Keeley Alton, general manager of Corporate Traveller.

The Flight Centre group business has seen some cautious growth already since isolation requirements were dropped for returning New Zealanders and further relaxation of border rules would mean more flights and help boost confidence to travel internationally.

The Omicron outbreak had hammered domestic travel but Alton says that as the wave passes, corporate travel is gradually coming back around the country. Domestic business bookings are about 80 per cent of Corporate Traveller's business and had been strong last year whenever there was little Covid-19 in the community.

She said international volumes were around 20 per cent to 30 per cent of what they were pre-pandemic but there were signs of a strong recovery.

Travel agents suffered badly when the pandemic hit but stand to do well out of the recovery as more complications around global travelling mean more businesses, small ones in particular, are using consultants to organise their trips.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

DIY travel is getting harder and can cost much more in the long run, said Alton.

''We're talking (to them) about how important duty of care and compliance is when you're sending your employees overseas. It is not simple to book an international trip anymore - using a travel management company can help you facilitate that and to maximise the dollars.''

She said entry requirements and vaccination rules were changing almost daily.
While changes already in place and coming to New Zealand were "100 per cent better than MIQ", there were still some impediments to travel - and confidence has been dented.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

While many countries are scrapping requirements for pre-departure tests for entry, they were still in place for New Zealand.

For some firms sending their staff overseas that means a short trip of four days could grow to around 14 if they have a positive Covid test.

Keeley Alton, general manager Corporate Traveller.  Photo /  Dean Purcell.
Keeley Alton, general manager Corporate Traveller. Photo / Dean Purcell.

"Quite a lot of travel to the US and Europe where those restrictions are lifting takes the pain out of the outbound journey but there can be inbound complication to come home," said Alton.

When Australia announced in the last week that it would drop the pre-entry testing requirement, there was an immediate bump in transtasman activity.

Corporate Traveller consultants say customers want to see consistency in this country.

"They want to see continuity for a few months with the Government not snap shutting the borders again and actually standing by their plan to open up the world."

The shortage of airline capacity to this country had pushed up fares but those travelling now were not price-conscious, she said. They're booking fully flexible fares and prepared to pay extra for premium seats where there is more comfort which will be welcomed by airlines whose business class cabins can be highly profitable - when full.

Small and medium enterprise (SME) customers who may have previously done two or three trips a year are rolling travel into one longer journey with multiple stops.

"We're not sure if that's a trend that will continue but there's that pent-up demand out there."

Sports teams and athletes travelling to events overseas had been quick out of the blocks while government travel had been slower to get going as organisations work out travel policies.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Alton said with airline capacity set to increase in coming months as border restrictions ease and tourists return, the corporate travel rebound is expected to further accelerate.

"As airline capacity increases and flight prices become more competitive, more New Zealand companies will be jumping at the chance to take their business to the world."

Pre-pandemic 29 international airlines operated at Auckland Airport, connecting to 45 destinations. As at the end of March, 14 airlines fly internationally to 25 destinations. Several have indicated they will return and last week Latam resumed flights between Santiago, Chile and Sydney which call at Auckland.

Alton expects bleisure - combining work trips with leisure travel - to continue to grow strongly as business people take their overseas-travel-starved families overseas.

Overseas, optimism about corporate travel is returning strongly, particularly in the United States. A survey of 460 businesses by the Global Business Travel Association in February found three in four (78 per cent) of supplier and travel management company (TMC) professionals surveyed felt optimistic about the business travel industry's path to recovery, up from 54 per cent who reported being optimistic in the January poll.

The percentage of respondents who report non-essential domestic business travel is sometimes or usually allowed increased to 73 per cent in February, compared to 66 per cent in January.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

And among those surveyed, most (68 per cent) anticipate they will want to travel about the same amount or more as they did before the pandemic in the future. An additional third (30 per cent) say they want to travel "somewhat or much less" than they did before the pandemic.

On average, travel buyers in the US say their company's business travel bookings are at 33 per cent of their pre-pandemic level, while travel suppliers report their business travel bookings are back to 42 per cent compared with pre-pandemic levels.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Airlines

Premium
Airlines

Qantas cyber attack hackers net 10,000 meal preferences, 1.3 million addresses

09 Jul 04:50 AM
Premium
Airlines

Pilot sacked over Covid-19 vaccine: Union explains support

09 Jul 01:27 AM
Premium
Airlines

Pilot sacked over Covid-19 vaccine wins Employment Court case

08 Jul 07:09 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Airlines

Premium
Qantas cyber attack hackers net 10,000 meal preferences, 1.3 million addresses

Qantas cyber attack hackers net 10,000 meal preferences, 1.3 million addresses

09 Jul 04:50 AM

Impersonation scam or tech wizardry? The Qantas hack raises concerns over ID theft.

Premium
Pilot sacked over Covid-19 vaccine: Union explains support

Pilot sacked over Covid-19 vaccine: Union explains support

09 Jul 01:27 AM
Premium
Pilot sacked over Covid-19 vaccine wins Employment Court case

Pilot sacked over Covid-19 vaccine wins Employment Court case

08 Jul 07:09 AM
Premium
Jetstar in top 10 as world’s cleanest airlines ranked

Jetstar in top 10 as world’s cleanest airlines ranked

08 Jul 02:21 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP