Explore business travel productivity statistics with practical insights.
The latest business travel productivity statistics showcase how companies can harness the power of technology to optimise work efficiency in transit. Armed with the latest data-driven tools and techniques, travelling employees can stay motivated, connected, and productive. In this article, we’ve gathered over 35 employee productivity statistics covering everything from remote working patterns to travel delay stats and productivity-boosting wellness trends.
Business travel boosts productivity by enabling direct sales, fostering investment opportunities, and facilitating knowledge-sharing. Economic and workplace productivity statistics back this up.
1. Nine-in-ten business travellers state that business travel improves and develops key stakeholder relationships. (CBI)
The post-pandemic return of in-person industry gatherings, with all the growth potential they entail, continues to be a major driver for business travel.
2. According to a 2024 Deloitte report, 60% of travellers listed a business conference as their primary journey purpose, efficiently facilitating in-person connections and knowledge transfer through a single event. (Deloitte)
3. A survey of business executives reported that nearly a third of their company’s new sales rely on business travel. And over 80% of firms agree that business travel drives innovation through knowledge acquisition. (CBI)
4. As an important indicator of labour productivity, business travel contributes £27.5 billion to the UK economy alone, supporting 283,500 full-time equivalent jobs. (CBI)
Whether or not remote workers are more productive depends on the tools used while travelling. Advances in technology have not only facilitated a digital nomad lifestyle for many professionals, but these tools improve productivity when working remotely on a business trip.
Tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Trello, and Asana enable collaboration and communication for travelling remote workers, as does video conferencing technology. Whether team members are logging in from hotel rooms or home offices, they’re able to contribute more effectively with their team.
5. The global video conferencing market is expected to grow to over $60 billion by 2032, driven by travel and remote work demand. (Fortune)
6. Fuelled by technology, remote work is here to stay. In the United States alone, fully remote jobs make up over 15% of total job opportunities – three times higher than pre-pandemic years. (The Ladders)
7. It’s estimated that there will be 60 million digital nomads worldwide by 2030, engaging in location independent work while travelling. (Wyse Travel Confederation)
8. According to the latest ONS figures, more than a quarter of the UK’s working adults (28%) follow a hybrid work schedule blending at-home, in-office, and business travel time. (ONS)
Yes, the statistics on employee engagement and productivity reveal that remote work’s flexibility can be highly motivating, boosting engagement.
9. One study shows that 74% of employees feel happier and more motivated when working remotely. (USA Today)
10. At the same time, 50% of employees surveyed would take a pay cut in favour of remote scheduling. (USA Today)
Remote work contributes to better work-life balance with added freedom and flexibility. But are remote workers more productive? The statistics on employee engagement and productivity say yes.
11. We’ve already established the remote workers are more engaged, and Gallup statistics show that engaged employees are also 18% more productive. (Gallup)
12. A December 2024 survey revealed that 61% of employees reported being more productive when working remotely. (Bospar)
13. Remote workers are a highly skilled workforce, many with advanced degrees, and 94.5% are full-time employees. (Bospar)
14. In an Economist study, 54% of employees stated that remote working had no impact on their ability to communicate with colleagues and clients, while 19% stated that it made communication easier to some degree. (The Economist)
When business trips are tightly packed with important meetings, any delays to the schedule can lead to lost productivity. And unfortunately, travel stats show that delays are commonplace.
15. Tripeden.com for Business data shows that things like flight delays, lost luggage, and other lengthy layovers are top concerns for business travellers. Of those surveyed, 31% rated travel delay and disruption as their biggest concern, above safety, health, and cultural challenges. (Tripeden.com for Business)
16. The most recent EURO Snapshot shows that nearly three out of ten European flights arrived over 15 minutes late, with an average scheduled departure delay of 17.8 minutes. (EUROCONTROL)
17. In the one-year period between December 2023 and December 2024, just 78.53% of domestic US flights arrived on time, with 1.29% cancelled. (Bureau of Transportation Statistics)
18. A European Commission survey found that 47% of rail travellers experienced at least one disruption in the last 12 months, the most common being a delayed departure of one to two hours. (EU)
19. The same EU27 survey shows that 17% of coach travellers and 12% of ferry passengers experienced disruption, most reported as a departure delay. (EU)
20. Within the UK, 62.1% of trains arrived on time in 2024 Q4, though 81.4% arrived within a window of five to ten minutes. One in 20, or 5.1%, of trains were cancelled. (Office of Rail and Road)
Without a plan to maximise lost time, all these minutes waiting on a connection eat into the workday. While waiting for a connection, travellers can use Wi-Fi equipped business facilities and lounges to recharge and catch up on correspondence.
21. The 2025 Tripeden.com Travel Predictions Report shows that 34% of combined business and leisure travellers take a destination’s airport facilities into consideration, particularly among Gen Z and millennial travellers who look for features like sleep pods and spas. (Tripeden.com)
Access to airport lounges provides a chance to make up lost productivity time due to these delays.
22. For frequent business travellers averaging at least 15 trips per year, the cost of lounge membership quickly pays for itself through productivity gains. A break-even analysis from Loungepair.com estimates that a typical mid-level executive would gain 40-50 hours of quiet workspace over two years, valued at $2,000 once costs are considered. (Loungepair)
23. Tools like the American Express Lounge Finder (formerly LoungeBuddy) give access to thousands of international airport lounges with business facilities. (American Express)
Travel disruption not only takes a toll on working hours – it also causes stress, which further hinders an employee’s ability to perform. Wellbeing and productivity statistics show just how much time and money is lost due to travel stress.
24. The Blacklane Work and Travel Trends report shows a correlation between stressful journeys and lost productivity. After a stressful trip, 86% of overall business travellers reported losing at least one hour of productive time upon arrival due to the need to decompress and recover. (Blacklane)
25. Among C-level executives, 45% reported losing between four and eight hours of productive work time due to travel stress. (Blacklane)
26. The average financial cost of lost productivity due to travel-related stress amounts to $662 per business trip. (Corporate Wellness Magazine)
27. The business-meets-leisure (bleisure) trend offers one solution to improve wellness and productivity, with 54% of business travellers reporting that bleisure options would make them more productive. (Blacklane)
28. More comfortable or premium travel booking options provide additional ways to improve productivity, with 37% of business travellers reporting that booking premium or business class flights would reduce stress. (Blacklane)
It takes business travellers one day to fully adjust to each time zone crossed. That means a trip from Boston to Beijing, with a 12-hour time difference, could work out to twelve days of substandard productivity due to travel fatigue.
29. A survey of long-haul travellers found that nearly all used at least one behavioural strategy to mitigate jet lag’s effects, with 81% avoiding alcohol and caffeine, 53% using light exposure, and 15% using medication like melatonin (8%). (CDC)
Jet lag apps and tools like Timeshifter offer a science-based way to improve concentration and reduce productivity-draining fatigue during a work trip.
30. In post-flight surveys, 96.4% of travellers using Timeshifter’s circadian app reduced jet lag symptoms. Travellers who didn’t follow Timeshifter’s advice were 14.1 times more likely to experience severe jet lag. (Timeshifter)
Staying organised while travelling is one of the keys to maximising work trip productivity.
31. Technology facilitates connection with teammates from remote locations, with 94% of employees feeling that collaborative project visibility improves their productivity. (Project.co)
32. Although 58% of workers state they have a general idea of what their team members are working on, this rises to 88% when using a project management tool. (Project.co)
33. In a Global Productivity Survey from Monday.com, 76% of workers believed improving productivity would help prevent burnout. Furthermore, 80% of those surveyed believed collaboration and productivity tools would improve employee engagement. (Monday.com)
34. On average, up to 9% of work time is spent toggling – and then reorienting – between dozens of apps, windows, tabs, and spreadsheets. Using integrated dashboards like Trello and Monday.com saves resources when a traveller’s downtime is scarce. (Harvard Business Review)
35. To-do lists also help keep colleagues on track while working remotely. Studies show that 95% of people feel to-do lists improve mental health, while 96% believe list-making improves efficiency. (Project.co)
36. Most business travellers already use to-do lists, with 88% of surveyed individuals making daily lists. Nearly half (44%) of these use paper, 35% use task management software, and 11% use spreadsheets. (Project.co)
For business travellers, these workplace productivity statistics indicate that mobile task management apps are useful. They provide a convenient way to stay connected with colleagues while maintaining control not only over work tasks, but also travel management.
Task management apps like Todoist include dedicated templates for business travel packing, client management, deep work, and meeting agendas to keep business travellers on task.
Employee productivity statistics reveal that while delays are common, there’s a multitude of ways to stay on top of workloads. Companies can draw from remote work and digital nomad trends by integrating tech-driven, collaborative platforms into everyday workflows. That way, whether employees are logging in from an airport lounge or conference breakroom, they’ll be able to stay connected with clients and colleagues in real-time.
When thoughtfully implemented, flexibility can improve engagement and productivity not only for full-time remote workers, but also for short-term travelling employees. Wellbeing and productivity statistics show that a more comfortable travel experience reduces stress. Using business travel management tools like Tripeden.com for Business, employees can choose policy-compliant hotels and business flights that are not only within budget but also meet their comfort needs.
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