Hybrid and remote work models are motivating more travel, according to a survey of the world’s most experienced travellers. More than half (59%) of respondents revealed that a remote or hybrid workplace model encourages them, their friends and family to travel more, according to the 2024 Spring Global Rescue Traveler Sentiment and Safety Survey.
“It’s a boon for the travel industry, and one reason why travel growth continues to surpass pre-pandemic levels,” said Dan Richards, CEO of The Global Rescue Companies, the world’s leading provider of medical, security, evacuation and travel risk management services, and a member of the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Nearly a third (30%) of survey respondents reported they travel for work. Of those, seven out of 10 (71%) are working remotely – either part- or full-time. A new, key finding is that since January 2024, business travelers’ expectations of work-related travel exceeding pre-pandemic levels have doubled, based on a comparison of results between the January and April surveys. In January, only 11% of surveyed individuals who travel for work predicted business travel to exceed pre-pandemic levels. Today, that percentage has nearly doubled to 21%.
The increase may be attributed to a nascent trend reported by the Oxford Economics survey revealing that employers are encouraging remote and hybrid workers to travel, largely for business-related reasons but also to satisfy employee travel desires.
“Call it FOMO Travel or YOLO Travel, individuals productively working remotely, part- or full-time, are renewing meaningful business and personal connections here and abroad. It’s fostering soul-enriching journeys,” Richards said. “Vacations used to be all about a complete escape from work, but now you can check emails from a hammock in the Maldives, take a break from a video conference to surf the incoming tide in Rincon, or finish the workday in Sweden and have plenty of time to view the Northern Lights,” Richards said.