SAP Concur Survey: Higher Education Travel Faces Flexibility and Budget Pressures
SAP Concur's Global Business Travel Survey, commissioned through Wakefield Research and now in its sixth year, focused specifically on higher education for the first time. The global survey covered 3,750 business travelers in 24 markets. Among higher education respondents, 67% of U.S. business travelers consider business travel essential for career growth; 94% experienced cutbacks in travel flexibility over the past year, with 34% reporting cuts to authorizing remote work during personal travel and 21% noting restrictions on adding personal travel to business trips; 85% were forced to take unanticipated actions due to unexpected circumstances in the past 12 months, including canceling or re…
Impact and considerations
The survey shows higher education travel facing reduced flexibility and frequent disruptions amid tighter budgets, with travelers sensitive to safety and sustainability options. Institutions can use these findings to adjust travel policies, tools, and duty-of-care arrangements.
Key points
- SAP Concur's Global Business Travel Survey, commissioned through Wakefield Research and now in its sixth year, focused specifically on higher education for the first time, covering 3,750 business travelers in 24 markets.
- 67% of U.S. higher education business travelers consider business travel essential for career growth.
- 94% of higher education travelers experienced cutbacks in travel flexibility over the past year, with 34% reporting cuts to authorizing remote work during personal travel and 21% noting restrictions on adding personal travel to business trips.
- 85% were forced to take unanticipated actions due to unexpected circumstances in the past 12 months, including canceling or rescheduling meetings (49%) and longer layovers or delays (61%).
- 51% would decline a trip due to destination safety concerns and 34% due to transportation safety; 25% report their institution is more focused on sustainable travel options.
- 91% would consider AI-enabled booking tools, but only 7% currently use them.
Sources and time
- Primary source
- SAP Concur
- Other sources
- 0
- First source publication
- 26 Aug 2024, 17:54
- Page published
- 14 Aug 2026, 08:12
- Last updated
- 26 Aug 2024, 17:54
- Original links
- SAP Concur Blog：Higher Education on the Move: Wakefield Survey Reveals Institutional Travel Challenges (opens in a new tab)Primary source · en · Published 26 Aug 2024, 17:54