Employees increasingly experience business trips as an area of ​​tension. This is what the results show pay attention to the “Global Business Travel Survey” from SAP Concur. On the one hand, 93 percent of those surveyed stated that business trips have a positive effect on their mental or physical well-being. But on the other hand, 67 percent say they are hesitant to take business trips this year. The main reasons are security concerns, fear of travel disruptions and increasing uncertainty.

The survey results come at a time when companies are increasingly investing in business travel programs. 82 percent of those responsible for finance are planning higher travel budgets for this year. At the same time, traveler behavior is changing due to geopolitical tensions and information security risks. Companies are faced with the challenge of meeting the increasing expectations of employees while at the same time managing unprecedented complexity.

Business travel remains important, but expectations are rising.

Despite ongoing disruptions to global travel, 93% of respondents say business travel has a positive impact on their mental or physical well-being. The reasons are varied: 45% appreciate the change from their everyday work routine. 44% perceive the change of scenery as a mental recovery. For 36%, business trips are an opportunity for personal exchange with colleagues and customers – something that is often neglected in everyday working life.

Parents feel the personal benefit even more clearly. 33% say that business trips represent a break from family or private obligations. This is 26 percent of travelers without children. Parents are more likely to cite access to wellness facilities in hotels (33% vs. 25%) and opportunities for sport and exercise that they lack at home (22% vs. 14%).

In a time characterized by exhaustion and digital overload, many working people see traveling as an opportunity to get more in touch with colleagues and customers, but also with themselves. Business trips have apparently long since become more than a necessary evil for employees.

However, the positive benefits are offset by increasing uncertainties. 67 percent of business travelers say they are hesitant to take business trips this year. The main reasons are security concerns in geopolitically tense regions (31%), fear of travel disruptions such as flight delays or cancellations (28%) and uncertainty regarding entry and identity requirements (16%).

Overtourism: hidden costs when traveling in peak season

Almost one in four travelers (24%) say overcrowding or overtourism has had a negative impact on a business trip. For this reason, 87 percent of those surveyed consciously avoid heavily frequented tourist areas when they are on business trips.

The impact is noticeable: 43 percent of business travelers report higher costs in crowded destinations, 38 percent experience difficulty with transportation in crowded areas, and 33 percent are unable to book their preferred options due to overbooking or limited availability. Additionally, 27 percent say they don't feel comfortable being surrounded by crowds. And 26 percent see increased security risks or fear hostility against tourists.

Employees expect more support when traveling

The survey also shows that employees' expectations of their employer's duty of care during business trips have changed significantly. Over a quarter (27%) of respondents now see their employer as having primary responsibility for their safety on business trips – up from 18% in 2020, when a similar question was asked. This expectation is even more pronounced among younger generations: Only 35 percent of Millennials and 33 percent of Generation Z see themselves as having primary responsibility, compared to 47 percent of Baby Boomers.

Confidence in the employer's emergency preparedness is mixed: Only 58 percent of travelers are largely or completely convinced that their company could successfully evacuate them from a country in an emergency.

From the perspective of travel managers, the situation is serious: 86 percent of those surveyed fear that their company is not doing enough to ensure the safety of employees while traveling. Interestingly, only 38 percent of CFOs see their company as fully responsible for the safety of employees on business trips. The majority sees this responsibility primarily as lying to the employees themselves.

According to travel managers, the greatest danger when traveling on business is the risk of sensitive data being hacked during trips abroad (44%) – mentioned even more often than geopolitical conflicts (43%), short-term delays (39%) or severe storms (39%).

Technological solutions such as location tracking can help increase employee safety. In principle, travelers are willing to share their location data – but not unconditionally. 79 percent say they at least partially agree with employers tracking their location during business trips to ensure their safety. But trust remains fragile: almost a third (29%) say real-time monitoring of location and spending would undermine their trust in company leadership.

The results illustrate an increasing balancing act: employees expect more and more support and protection from their employer when traveling, but at the same time they demand transparency about how their data is used.

Finance leaders continue to recognize the strategic value of business travel. Almost all CFOs surveyed (97%) believe business travel is important to their company's growth strategy. 82% expect travel budgets to increase this year. But with increasing investment comes stricter controls. Nearly nine in ten CFOs (89%) believe travel managers need to better justify how business travel helps achieve business goals.

Travel managers, on the other hand, say they are tasked with proving profitability without receiving sufficient support from their organization. 84% agree that they cannot fully achieve corporate goals without greater support from those responsible for finance. Their top needs include: better data and insights to demonstrate profitability (44%), training on how to effectively use AI (43%), more support for policy changes or new initiatives (42%), and contemporary technology solutions (40%).

This discrepancy reveals a key challenge: As companies invest more in business travel, they risk undermining those investments unless they provide travel managers with the tools and support needed to deliver measurable results.

The trust equation

The 2026 results show that business travel continues to deliver significant value in terms of growth, collaboration and employee experience. But they also reveal growing discrepancies between companies' expectations of travel programs and employees' actual experiences on business trips – discrepancies that are increasingly impacting travelers' well-being, employers' duty of care, policy compliance and trust in company leadership.

Companies that close these gaps by communicating more clearly, providing better governance, being more supportive of travelers and providing tools that employees enjoy using will be better positioned. You can build business travel programs that employees trust and that leadership supports with conviction.

Further insights can be found in the eighth “SAP Concur Global Business Traveler Survey,” which is conducted annually worldwide.

Charlie Sultan is President of Concur Travel at SAP Concur.

The “SAP Concur Global Business Traveler Survey” was conducted from April 1 to April 20, 2026 by the US market research company Wakefield Research carried out. 3,300 business travelers from 21 markets were surveyed: ANZ (Australia, New Zealand), Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg), Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and USA.
The “SAP Concur Global Travel Manager Survey” was conducted from April 1 to April 20, 2026 by the US market research company Wakefield Research carried out. Surveyed 800 travel managers who lead or manage corporate travel programs in eight markets: ANZ (Australia and New Zealand), Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, UK and USA.
The “SAP Concur Global CFO Survey” was conducted from April 1 to April 20, 2026 by the US market research company Wakefield Research carried out. 700 CFOs were surveyed in seven markets: ANZ (Australia and New Zealand), Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and USA.