meaning of travel firm

“Travel Company” vs. “Travel Agency”: What’s the Difference?

The difference between “travel company” and “travel agency”

• The main difference between a travel company and a travel agency is that the former provides the actual services, while the latter acts as an intermediary between clients and service providers.
• Travel companies often have more control over the quality of the services they offer, while travel agencies can offer more personalized services to their clients utilizing different service providers.
• Travel companies tend to have a range of options, while travel agencies offer more specialized services tailored to specific needs and interests.

What is the definition of “travel company” and “travel agency”?

• A travel company is a business that provides a range of travel-related services to its customers.
• They usually provide tours and transportation services to their clients.
• Many large travel companies have their own facilities and transportation vehicles.
• A travel agency is a business that specializes in making travel arrangements for individuals and groups.
• They work as a middleman between clients and airplanes, hotels, restaurants, and other facilities.
• Travel agencies often have expertise in specific areas such as adventure travel, luxury travel, or budget travel.

Which is the more popular variant on the Internet?

• The travel company offered a great itinerary for our trip to Thailand.
• I heard that this new travel company is known for its affordable services.
• The travel company's customer service team was very helpful in resolving any issues we had during our trip.
• We found the perfect beach resort thanks to the suggestions from our travel agency.
• The travel agency was able to book our flights, hotel, and excursions all in one convenient package.
• The travel agency provided us with useful travel tips and advice for our trip to Europe.

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• Corporate Finance

Corporate Business Travel: Everything You Need to Know

Katie Miller is a consumer financial services expert. She worked for almost two decades as an executive, leading multi-billion dollar mortgage, credit card, and savings portfolios with operations worldwide and a unique focus on the consumer. Her mortgage expertise was honed post-2008 crisis as she implemented the significant changes resulting from Dodd-Frank required regulations.

Corporate business travel involves the movement of individuals representing their organizations for work-related reasons. Whether it’s attending client meetings, industry conferences, or sealing business deals, this practice covers a range of activities essential for professional growth.

In the interconnected global business environment, where face-to-face connections matter, corporate business travel plays a central role in sustaining and expanding enterprises across borders. Businesses face challenges in optimizing this crucial element of their operations. Strategic considerations must be taken into account to use this element of business to its greatest potential.

Key Takeaways

• Corporate business travel can unlock new opportunities for business growth, offering the possibility of reaching new markets, connecting with a wider pool of prospects, or developing brand presence and reputation.
• Traveling for business has many benefits for individuals as well, providing them the chance to meet fellow employees, grow their career by participating in different opportunities, and network within the industry, not to mention experience new destinations.
• Business traveler safety and security are top priorities during corporate travel.
• To ensure that travel goes smoothly and stays within budget, companies should implement corporate travel policies and best practices for employees traveling on behalf of the company.

Importance of Corporate Business Travel

There are many business-related reasons to travel. It can encourage team building, promote learning, offer different perspectives, provide connection to a wider network, open up new markets, and drive sales. And whether or not the trip is for a specific purpose (such as a conference or a retreat), the benefits for employees and companies alike can extend beyond the stated intent of the trip, building confidence, cultural competency, relationships, and company reputation.

Many employees consider the opportunity to travel for work a desirable job perk, as it can offer the chance to venture somewhere that they may not ordinarily go, or to have a trip paid for by their company. And although expenses are associated with travel from a corporate perspective, they may be well worth the return on investment in terms of potential leads or sales—plus, many travel expenses are tax- deductible .

Types of Corporate Business Travel

Corporate travel can take many forms, including the chance for employees and executives to attend events, such as meetings, conferences, industry networking sessions, and fairs. Or a trip may take advantage of educational opportunities such as training sessions, seminars, and workshops. Retreats and guided trips can make for valuable team-building time in new contexts that unlock different perspectives and strengthen working relationships.

Businesses may send their employees to a different location to network, sell, teach, learn from, or generally connect with external contacts or internal employees in regional offices, or to act on behalf of the company in some way.

Additionally, from a client perspective, business travel may occur as a form of due diligence , ensuring that your vendors or suppliers are legitimate, legal, and compliant organizations—for example, traveling for regular audits to confirm that what you think is happening at your supplier organizations is actually happening.

Creating a Corporate Travel Policy

From a company perspective, travel can be a challenge to administer and manage . Costs can easily balloon out of control; travel logistics can be time-intensive to arrange; employees traveling on behalf of the company must be granted a great deal of trust; and like any form of travel, business travel can open up risks to safety, security, and health.

No matter the size of the business or the frequency or complexity of travel, a corporate travel policy can be a helpful tool for any company to set expectations for its employees, communicate guidelines and processes, keep expenses within budget, and streamline booking and logistics.

In creating a corporate travel policy, companies might consider the following for both domestic and international travel, as applicable:

• Purpose(s) of travel
• Which employees are eligible to travel
• Booking and expense approval processes
• Risks and liabilities of travel and how to manage them
• Expectations for employee behavior, including acceptable and secure uses of technology, personal vs. leisure time, communication, and entertainment while traveling
• Eligible expenses for employees while traveling, including per diem rates if applicable
• Determine if employees will be reimbursed for their expenses or given a corporate credit card to use
• Financial tracking, record-keeping, and reimbursement processes
• Acceptable booking practices and costs, including preferred agents or vendors
• Travel insurance

Of course, policies must also be communicated and enforced to ensure compliance and fairness. Including a travel policy as part of a corporate handbook or reviewing it in an onboarding or training module can be a good way to ensure that all employees receive and understand the information. Making it easily accessible for future reference on a shared drive or company portal will encourage employees to refer to it often.

Business travel managers estimate, on average, that spending on domestic and international corporate travel is at 77% and 74%, respectively, of where it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Setting a Corporate Travel Policy

Corporate Business Travel Best Practices

There are many best practices that both employees and companies can keep in mind around corporate business travel to ensure that it is a successful experience. These encompass everything from administration and financing to employee behavior and well-being.

Booking Corporate Travel

Booking travel can be labor-intensive and time-consuming. To improve the booking process, save on costs, and streamline expense reporting, it can be helpful to designate preferred travel agencies, online platforms, vendors, and lodgings for employees and executives to book with. If the size of the company allows, it can also be helpful to hire an employee or team specifically to oversee and administer corporate travel, or designate this duty as part of an employee’s broader job description.

Managing Travel Expenses and Budgeting

There are many financial considerations when it comes to corporate business travel, and expenses and budgets must be carefully managed to keep costs under control. Many travel expenses are tax-deductible and can be written off, representing potentially significant savings for a company. Setting a budget and clear guidelines for employees about what can be an expense and what cannot is a must, as is creating and enforcing policies and procedures around tracking and reporting expenses.

Many corporate credit cards offer travel rewards and cost-saving opportunities for business travel, as do many other vendors and suppliers in the corporate travel industry. Businesses can take advantage of these to reduce inefficiencies and save on costs.

How to Manage Corporate Travel

Ensuring Traveler Safety and Security

As with any trip, business trips are not without safety and security risks, including the potential for political or civil unrest, crime, illness, injury, accidents, emergencies, natural disasters, cybersecurity breaches, or theft.

To protect their employees against unexpected and undesirable circumstances, at a minimum, businesses will want to have a travel insurance plan in place. It’s also helpful for businesses and employees to undertake some form of travel risk assessment to aid them in navigating potential risks, and outline safety and emergency preparedness guidelines within a corporate travel policy.

Employees should also know how to call if something goes sideways, such as hotel booking issues. A travel agent? A supervisor? If there’s a hurricane, you don’t have a car, and your flight is canceled, can you book another last-minute flight to get around the weather to get home? These details should be planned ahead for.

Maximizing Productivity During Business Trips

The overlap of business and leisure, sometimes referred to as “bleisure,” is one of the main draws of corporate business travel. However, there can also be pitfalls associated with this gray area. It can be difficult to stay productive while working remotely, whether due to the many distractions of a new environment (positive and negative), or because the trip entails an increased workload or time spent away from day-to-day job duties.

Employees looking to manage their time efficiently while away should get clarity on the intended purpose and expected outcome of their trip, and their employer’s and teammates’ expectations for their workload and communication frequency. They can also plan ahead to make the most of their travel time and downtime, and anticipate time zone differences to ensure smooth communication and adjustment to jet lag.

It’s important for employees to maintain work-life balance while traveling on behalf of work. Researching food, entertainment, and fitness options and preparing accordingly can pay off in terms of mental and physical wellness, especially for frequent travelers.

Tips for Business Travel Etiquette

Traveling anywhere, whether domestically or internationally, comes with responsibilities and expectations regarding employee behavior. Perception is one of the most important factors to remember when traveling as a representative of your company. You represent your company out in the public, so you need to ensure you’re displaying any key values that your company represents when interacting with vendors, clients, and peers.

This applies to cultural sensitivity as well. Travelers should do research in advance of their trip to ensure that they can be mindful of local customs and professional etiquette and behave with awareness and respect. Even the basics, such as learning appropriate forms of greeting or how to handle money and payment, and committing a few common words or phrases to memory can go a long way toward demonstrating good intentions and building a new relationship across cultures.

Sustainable and Responsible Business Travel

Recognizing that corporate travel can have a negative impact on the environment, many businesses and individuals are reexamining their travel practices and policies to see where they can make improvements. One example is reducing emissions by booking different means of transportation when possible. In general, seeking out vendors or companies that promote sustainable travel practices and responsible tourism, and that support local communities and ecosystems, can be a good first step to reduce environmental impact.

Technology and Tools for Corporate Business Travel

Software and technology tools can be immensely useful across all aspects of corporate business travel. Travel management and booking platforms; apps for tracking expenses, navigation, or converting currency; and translation and communication tools are all things that employees and businesses alike can take advantage of before, during, and after traveling.

When it comes to technology, it’s important to account for cybersecurity risks and only bring what is necessary to reduce the potential impact of damage, loss, or theft.

Managing Business Travel Expenses

What Is an Example of Corporate Business Travel?

There are many work-related reasons to travel, but many businesses will have their employees travel for conferences, events, sales and networking, seminars, meetings, team building, retreats, and to open up new business growth potential.

How Does Corporate Business Travel Work?

Corporate travel is simply travel for business-related purposes, so the nature of the trip will depend on its length and purpose. Companies whose employees travel frequently on behalf of the business should consider creating a corporate travel policy with information and guidelines for their employees.

Who Handles Corporate Business Travel?

Some businesses employ internal teams or individuals to manage corporate travel and business trips. At other times, employees are responsible for making their own arrangements within guidelines laid out by the company. There are also corporate travel agencies that businesses can leverage to streamline and optimize their bookings and costs.

The Bottom Line

Corporate business travel can be an invaluable path to both business growth and individual career development, building strong relationships and teams. No matter what form it takes, it’s prudent for companies to collect, implement, and communicate best practices for business travel to their employees in a company handbook or corporate travel policy. This should incorporate areas such as expense and booking management, safety and security, productivity, sustainability, technology, and employee behavior and etiquette.

Michela Buttignol / Investopedia

Internal Revenue Service. “ Understanding Business Travel Deductions .”

Global Business Travel Association. “ GBTA Business Travel Industry Outlook Poll .”

Harvard Business Review. “ How to Work and Travel at the Same Time .”

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How to Become a Travel Agent—Because, Believe It or Not, the Industry Is on the Rise

By Scott Bay

There’s a reason “how to become a travel agent” has been a continuously trending search phrase on Google—it is a career path that offers a flexible work environment and schedule, ample travel opportunities, and an immersion into a supportive world-wide industry. It's a surprise to some in 2023: Once the internet became widely available, it was largely believed that needing a travel agent was obsolete. However, even though the brick-and-mortar agencies with punny names in strip malls have vanished, the career is on-the-rise .

New software options are making it easier than ever for people to make money planning trips, either as a side hustle or as a full-time business. That’s why Cherikonda, India-based stay-at-home mother, Maya Kapoor-Miller, decided to enter the professional world as a travel agent this year, at 31. “I knew nothing about the travel industry prior to signing up,” says Kapoor-Miller, who decided to use San Francisco-based booking platform Dreamport to establish her online travel advisor business. “It is my first business in life, and the only one that you can start with no investment.”

But there's also a rise in demand. When people ventured back into the world after the pandemic, travel agents saw an overwhelming amount of business . And that momentum hasn’t stopped—when travel is complicated, like it was in 2020 and 2021, travelers turned to professional trip planners to create a seamless vacation. For better or worse, traveling has remained complicated and chaotic, with new rules being implemented (like Americans needing to pay a fee to visit Europe in 2024 ) and airline strikes and staffing issues. Offloading all of the nitty-gritty details to someone else is more appealing than ever.

For those entering the field, there's also the age-old motivator: a love of travel. 

Shelton Ellis, who is based in North Carolina, recently saw these opportunities and left behind more than 20 years in public relations and global advertising to turn his passion into a career. “I was born with a wanderlust that would wear Rick Steves out,” Ellis says. “I decided to take the leap and follow that lifelong yearning. Transitioning into this role was really about learning how to monetize what I'm passionate about.”

Whether you are looking for a new career path or a lucrative side-hustle—or simply curious about those taking the plunge—here’s how to become a travel agent, from the qualifications and education required, to anticipated earnings, according to those who have made the shift in the past year. 

What exactly does a travel agent do?

Travel agents, or travel advisors (the term is mostly interchangeable), manage everything that goes into a trip for their clients: the flights, car transfers, accommodations, restaurant reservations, and more—they even inspire the itinerary. The reason people turn to travel agents, aside from having a helping hand during any travel chaos , is also to tap into the travel agent’s first-hand knowledge of destinations, and their industry partnerships, which often lead to perks such as hotel upgrades, ideal airplane seats, and experiences that can’t be found on a search engine.

“You have to remember that as a travel agent, you will be a guide for people during their happiest moments—family reunions, weddings , baptisms, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences that people have dreamt of,” says Kapoor-Miller. “It has been one of the most rewarding aspects of being a travel agent. You navigate people, inform them, and help them choose.”

So, how do you become a travel agent?

There are many ways to become a travel agent, from joining an existing travel agency , to starting an independent business from the ground up. Others are opting for one of the buzziest start-ups in the travel industry, Fora . When it launched in 2021, the software company, which trains and provides search engine-optimized profile pages to advisors—at one point had a waitlist of over 30,000 people eager to begin a part-time gig. Travel photographer and Condé Nast Traveler contributor Amanda Villarosa is currently in the process of joining.

“I'm the person that friends and family come to for travel recommendations, tips and tricks, and general travel advice,” says Villarosa. “After discovering Fora and looking into it, I realized that it could be the perfect side-hustle, considering I'm already so involved in the industry.”

With additional flexibility, Villarosa was able to move from New York City to splitting her time between Denver and Los Angeles . She says that the sign-up was quite straightforward. “You're given a dedicated Fora email and have access to advising tools and fellow Fora advisors,” she says. “The training is in the form of Zoom meetings and videos, which you have the option to watch at your own pace. Once completed, you take a certification quiz and you're on your way to advising.”

The other ways in are slightly more involved. To begin an independent practice, you go about it like many other businesses. You will have to create an LLC, establish a business name, cultivate marketing materials, build a website, find clientele, and more.

Ellis found something in the middle, choosing to connect with an established travel agency. “Don't be afraid to reach out to an agency looking to take on new advisors and is willing to mentor," says Ellis. "I was fortunate to learn so much from Annie Chambers, the owner of Crafted Escapes , who has seven years in the business.” He now knows the ropes on everything from using itinerary-building software to destination-specific training, to the sales and marketing aspects of the trade.

Is there required education or qualifications?

Ellis says that there's no certification, per se, required to become a travel advisor, but there are countless training courses available like Departure Lounge ’s classes on navigating the industry through hotels and tour operators. He said it’s also important to stay on top of travel trends. Ellis recently completed travel agent training programs provided by premier cruise lines such as Virgin Voyages , Ritz-Carlton Yachts , and Cunard to help agents sell their products more accurately.

How much does a travel agent make?

What a travel agent earns depends on how many trips they successfully book for their clients. The entire model is commission-based, meaning agents earn a percentage of the total cost of the vacation they orchestrate. Many travel advisors choose to charge a flat-rate planning fee in addition to their commission, but balance is key—if you charge a high planning fee, it could lead to potential clients going elsewhere.

Jessica Puckett

Caitlin Morton

Olivia Morelli

Fora ’s website states that “some of our full-time, expert advisors earn well into the six figures (or beyond).” So a lucrative career may be on the horizon, for those who are able to build a robust client base and excellent industry connections.

How much you make can also depend on where you live around the world. “I am being paid in dollars,” says India-based Kapoor-Miller. “So the currency fluctuations of the local exchange rate are not something I am worried about.”

What are the key skills required to become a travel agent?

“Travel agents need a mix of customer service, communication, destination knowledge, organizational, and problem-solving skills,” says Kapoor-Miller. “But I would say that adaptability, flexibility, curiosity, and cultural sensitivity top them all—you have to put yourself in other's shoes, and understand the requirements, hopes, and expectations of your clients along with any worries and questions they may have.”

It’s vital to have a passion for traveling, even the aspects of the process that aren’t as exciting, such as learning about new airline routes, train schedule updates, and industry news. “It can be an information-heavy hustle, and I believe it's important to be excited about it as that energy definitely transfers to your clients and partners,” Villarosa says.

Should travel advisors choose a specialization?

Many travel advisors have found success through becoming an expert in a few types of travel and destinations. “It's important to become an authority and learn as much as you can through personal experiences and continuing education,” says Ellis. “As a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community , an avid snow skier, and scuba diver, I know not only the popular destinations but others that are off the beaten path, equally safe and adventurous for all travelers.” This helps travel agents establish a competitive edge, and hopefully convince potential clients to choose them for their expertise.

What are the benefits of being a travel agent?

“Flexibility tops them all,” says Kapoor-Miller. “And the ability to start without industry knowledge. If you worry that you are too old for this job, the good news is that this is a job you can enter and enjoy at any age.”

Another great perk is the "Familiarization trip,” says Ellis. “Tourism boards and hotels invite agents to visit and familiarize themselves with a particular country and its properties. After all, any accomplished salesperson should learn everything they can about their products first-hand...even if they're in Bora Bora.” It's hard work, but someone's got to do it. 

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What Is Business Travel? Importance and Types

Business travel has always been an integral part of the corporate world. It provides opportunities to meet clients face-to-face, attend conferences and networking events, and explore new markets. 

However, as much as business travel can be exciting, it also comes with its fair share of challenges. From flight delays and cancellations to tracking approvals and keeping spending in check, numerous obstacles can make business travel stressful and overwhelming. 

In this blog, we will explore the challenges and solutions of business travel and provide insights on how businesses can optimize their policies and practices to make them more efficient, cost-effective, and enjoyable for everyone involved. 

What is Business Travel?

Millions of professionals worldwide engage in business travel each year. Business travel is when you hit the road or take to the skies for work-related purposes. So, if you've ever traveled across state lines for a meeting or hopped on a plane for a conference, you've been on a business trip. 

According to  the Bureau of Transportation Statistics , Americans take over 400 million long-distance business trips yearly, accounting for roughly 16% of all long-distance travel.

What is the Importance of Business Travel?

It's clear that business travel is a significant part of many companies' operations, but what motivates them to send their employees on these journeys? There are several reasons why companies invest in business travel. Here are some of them: 

1. Closing Deals

Business deals often involve significant negotiation, and in-person meetings can be critical to reaching an agreement. When people meet in person, they can build trust and establish personal connections that are difficult to achieve through virtual communication. As such, closing deals in person is a common reason for business travel. 

2. Exploring New Markets

Companies looking to expand into new markets often send representatives to explore the conditions on the ground and conduct research. Visiting a new market can provide valuable insights into consumer behavior, local regulations, and cultural norms that can help companies tailor their products and services to a new audience. 

3. Building Relationships

One of the primary advantages of business travel is its opportunity to build stronger relationships with clients, partners, and colleagues. While email, phone, and video conferencing are convenient, nothing beats face-to-face interactions regarding establishing trust and rapport.

You can pick up on nonverbal cues during in-person meetings and establish a more personal connection. It can lead to a deeper understanding of the other person's needs and goals, which can ultimately help you provide better service or products. Additionally, in-person meetings can help address any concerns or issues more quickly and efficiently, preventing them from becoming more significant problems down the line. 

4. Networking

Attending industry events, trade shows, and conferences can provide networking opportunities, learning about new trends, and meeting potential clients and partners.

Networking can be invaluable for building relationships, finding new clients or partners, and staying up-to-date with industry best practices. For example, attending a trade show can provide opportunities to showcase your products or services, meet potential clients, and learn about the latest market trends. 

5. Competitive Advantage

Companies prioritizing business travel and investing in face-to-face meetings with clients and partners can gain a competitive advantage over those relying solely on digital communication. By meeting with clients and partners in person, companies can establish more personal connections and build trust, leading to more business opportunities and revenue. 

Here's a  business travel checklist  to make business travel for your employees less stressful. 

Different Types of Business Travel

Business travel can take many forms, depending on the purpose of the trip and the activities involved. Here are some of the most common types of business travel: 

• Event and Conference Travel:  Companies often send employees to corporate events and conferences where attendees can learn and network with peers, potential clients, and service providers. 
• Training and Education: Companies may send employees to conferences and workshops to learn about trends and best practices in their functional areas. These events can provide valuable opportunities for professional development and networking, helping employees stay up-to-date on the latest industry developments and build relationships with others in their field. 
• Internal Meetings and Visiting Offices:  National and multinational companies may need to send employees and leadership to other offices to discuss specific projects and business strategies or to build a more integrated organizational culture. 
• Company Retreats:  Some companies hold retreats annually or multiple times yearly to help teams grow stronger and build company culture through shared activities.
• Client Meetings:  Maintaining solid relationships with existing clients is crucial for many businesses. Account managers and others may regularly visit their most prominent clients to check in on them, take them out for a meal or drink, and generally show gratitude for their business. These visits can strengthen relationships and potentially lead to additional business. 
• Trade Fairs:  Many organizations attend trade shows and expos to display their products and services and connect with potential clients. Attending these events can effectively generate leads and build relationships with potential customers, especially in industries where face-to-face interactions are critical. 
• Transfers and Offshore Work:  Long-term transfers involve relocating employees to a different city or country for a certain period, usually to work on a specific project or set up a new function or business process. 
• Transient Travel:   Business transient  travelers typically refer to individuals who frequently travel for short periods, often for a business meeting or work-related. These travelers usually stay in hotels or temporary accommodations and frequently move between locations for work or other activities. 
• Bleisure Travel:  This hybrid travel style combines business and leisure travel, allowing employees to extend their business trips to leave time for sightseeing and relaxation. Bleisure travel can benefit employers and employees, encouraging employees to volunteer for business trips more often and providing a relaxing break. 

Top Challenges To Manage Business Travel 

As many businesses need help managing company travel, several issues affect day-to-day operations. These include: 

1. Managing Large Numbers of Requests

When managing large numbers of travel requests, keeping track of all the information and ensuring that requests are processed efficiently can be challenging. It can result in delays and frustration for employees waiting for travel approvals or information. 

For example, imagine a small company with just one finance person responsible for managing all travel requests. They receive requests from various team members in different formats—email, Slack messages, and in-person visits. It can lead to confusion and delays in processing the requests and distract the finance person from other essential tasks. 

2. Tracking Approvals

It's a massive headache if your company's travel approvals are manually emailed. Tracking travel approvals can be time-consuming and prone to errors. It can result in missed approvals, delayed travel, and frustration for employees waiting for approval. 

Imagine a team member submits a travel request, and the finance person then sends an email to the manager for approval. If the manager is busy or forgets to respond, the request may be delayed or even missed altogether, causing frustration for the employee who is scheduled to travel. 

3. Keeping Spending in Check

Managing travel costs can be difficult, especially when employees book trips independently or through different channels. It can result in overspending and frustration for finance teams who aim to keep costs under control. 

For example, imagine a company where employees book travel through different channels. Some employees book expensive hotels and flights, while others find cheaper options on discount travel websites. It can lead to inconsistency in travel costs and make it difficult for the finance team to manage and budget travel expenses. 

4. Being Flexible

Flexible travel policies can result in consistency, especially when balancing cost control with employee satisfaction. It can result in frustration for both employees and finance teams. 

For example, a business with restrictive travel policies can limit employees to specific airlines, hotels, and routes. It may help control costs, restrict employee options, and make travel less enjoyable. On the other hand, if policies are flexible, employees may book expensive options outside the budget. 

5. Reducing Errors

Reducing errors in travel management can be challenging, but it is essential to ensure accurate tracking of expenses and approvals. This can help prevent delays and frustration for employees and finance teams. 

How Companies Can Manage Business Travel  

Companies must make the process straightforward to ensure that team members comply with travel policies. If the process is simple, team members will find ways to circumvent the rules, and compliance will improve. The following are some common pitfalls to avoid: 

• Too many rules:  Too many, incredibly confusing or contradictory, can be overwhelming and frustrating for team members. It can lead to non-compliance or errors. 
• A high number of touches:  Too many touchpoints, like requiring additional emails to managers for approval, can slow down the process and make it difficult. 
• Lots of manual steps:  Requiring team members to file printed documents and receipts can be time-consuming and create opportunities for errors. 
• Unclear processes:  If team members are unsure of the steps or rules they must follow, they may become frustrated and disengage from the process. 

To ensure compliance and simplify the process, use  a corporate travel management system  that walks employees through each step. By automating the process and making it easy and intuitive, team members are more likely to follow the rules and comply with company policies. 

What is a Business Travel Solution? 

A travel management system is a software platform that helps companies manage their employees' travel-related activities and expenses. These systems can be purpose-built tools from third parties or developed in-house by large companies. However, building a travel management system from scratch doesn't make sense with the availability of business travel management tools out of the box for a relatively low cost. 

These systems aim to oversee, regulate, and coordinate a company's employees' travel activities and expenses. Previously, a company's office administrators or a dedicated travel manager would handle these tasks. However, with a travel management system, these manual tasks can be streamlined or automated, freeing up staff for more valuable work than monitoring others' travel plans. 

A  business travel solution  typically offers features such as online booking, expense tracking, policy compliance, travel budgeting, and reporting. They make booking, managing, and tracking business travel much simpler and more efficient for companies and their employees.  

As a business, it's essential to recognize the value of investing in business travel. There are numerous reasons why companies send their employees on these trips, including closing deals, exploring new markets, holding internal meetings, prospecting, educating, and visiting existing clients. These opportunities provide valuable experiences and insights to enhance your company's operations and bottom line. 

However, managing business travel can present challenges, such as managing large requests, tracking approvals, and dealing with changes in travel plans. To address these challenges, it's crucial to have a straightforward and streamlined travel policy outlining the process for requesting, approving, and booking travel and any expense and reimbursement policies. 

Another essential aspect of managing business travel is providing support and resources to employees while on the road. It includes ensuring they have the necessary technology and tools to stay connected and productive, providing guidance on safety and security, and offering access to travel support services in emergencies.

By recognizing the importance of business travel and implementing strategies to manage it effectively, your company can reap the benefits of enhanced collaboration, improved relationships with clients and partners, and increased opportunities for growth and success. 

So let your employees stay connected, build relationships and enjoy their next business trip!

John Hunter

John is the Senior Manager of Event Cloud Content Marketing at Cvent. He has 11 years of experience writing about the meetings and events industry. John also has extensive copywriting experience across diverse industries, including broadcast television, retail advertising, associations, higher education, and corporate PR.

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Business vs. Leisure Travel: Key Differences and Considerations

Travelers fall into 2 primary groups, but the motivations and priorities couldn’t be more different for business vs. leisure travelers..

Any given commercial flight is full of Travelers who fall into 2 broad categories: business and leisure. Business Travelers are hitting the road for meetings and conferences and sales presentations. Leisure Travelers are leaving home to have a little bit of fun, rest and relaxation. 

What are the key differences when booking business vs. leisure travel? Here’s a look at what is most important to each group across several different categories, plus tips for new Travel Managers who are doing their best to support business Travelers.

1. Price Sensitivity

Businesses want to keep costs low for travel because low costs help them achieve the return on investment they expect. Individuals traveling for leisure want to keep costs low because they are using their hard-earned money to fund a vacation.

While the motivations are similar, leisure Travelers tend to be more pric­­e sensitive. That’s because their return on investment is difficult to quantify. 

For example, a leisure Traveler spends $300 on a flight and $1,000 for 3 nights in a hotel, plus food and entertainment expenses. That Traveler’s return on investment is time away from home, a few mornings of sleeping late, plus memories that will (hopefully) last a lifetime.

Now, imagine a business Traveler spends the same amount on everything: $300 on a flight plus $1,000 for 3 nights in a hotel, plus food and transportation expenses. But the business Traveler returns to the office with a signed 3-year contract worth $300,000. That’s a massive return on investment.

In short, ROI is highly quantifiable for business Travelers, but it’s much more difficult to calculate for leisure Travelers. This dynamic makes business Travelers less price sensitive, and leisure Travelers more price sensitive. Need assistance with calculating business travel ROI? At JTB Business Travel, we provide a solution for that .

2. Weekdays vs. Weekends 

Go to an airport in a major American city on a Monday morning, and you’re likely to encounter a vast number of business Travelers — many of them consultants heading out for the week. Those consultants will return at the end of the workday on Thursday, and then work from their hometown offices on Friday.

Now, go to an airport in a major American city on a Saturday morning, and you’re likely to encounter something entirely different — families traveling to visit relatives, plus young vacationers heading to the beach or to different cities to see friends.

Airlines and hotels know when to expect different types of Travelers, and they create pricing algorithms that respond to demand for certain itineraries and their prospective customers’ collective ability to pay those prices.

Looking for the least busy, least expensive days to travel? Focus on Tuesdays and Wednesdays . Business Travelers are typically flying early and late in the week, and leisure Travelers are typically flying on or around the weekend. That leaves middle-of-the-week days as the easiest for travel.

3. The Importance of Location and Timing

Business Travelers often need to visit specific destinations at specific times. For example, imagine there’s a substantial lead-generation opportunity at a trade show in Chicago the second week of October. Your Travelers will need flights to that specific location on those particular dates.

Leisure Travelers have a lot more flexibility. For example, imagine a family who wants to spend a week in cooler temperatures with a view of mountains. It’s far too expensive to fly into the small regional airport that serves Jackson Hole, Wyoming. So, instead, the family looks at flights to Salt Lake City (allowing them to make a short drive to Park City) and flights to Denver (allowing them to make a short flight to any of the ski towns just to the west). They simply look for the best combination of flight and lodging costs, no matter the day of departure.

Related to both No. 2 and No. 3 on this list, Travel Managers may find themselves approving more expensive flights because their business Travelers have less flexibility than those traveling for leisure. But, because of No. 1 on this list, it’s OK to pay a little bit more. For the right return on investment, a business doesn’t have to agonize over saving a few bucks on a flight or a hotel. 

4. Reviews and Recommendations

Leisure Travelers may spend hours upon hours reading reviews and recommendations about cities, hotels, restaurants, entertainment options, etc. In most cases, business Travelers spend far less time worrying about reviews and recommendations — they are more concerned with access, convenience and productivity.

The only area where business Travelers might spend more time on reviews and recommendations is when entertaining clients or prospects. For example, if you’re taking an important client out to dinner, you’ll want to spend significant time researching your restaurant options.

Travel Managers worry less about reviews and recommendations in most cases, and focus more on proximity to essential offices and venues. You can best empower your Travelers by ensuring their trips are eminently comfortable, convenient and productive.

5. Amenities

Amenities are important to both business and leisure Travelers, but they are likely interested in entirely different amenities. 

Business Travelers will be more interested in proximity to locations that are important to them. They may also be interested in on-site dining options, drycleaning and shoe-shining services, hotel gym and exercise facilities, plus the presence of a business center where they can receive packages and make printouts.

Leisure Travelers will be more interested in spa and similar treatment packages, swimming pools, in-room entertainment, proximity to popular tourist attractions, plus shuttle services and other transportation.

There may be some crossover in amenities desired. For example, a business Traveler may want a swimming pool if they like to swim laps early in the morning, and a leisure Traveler may want on-site dining for an easy breakfast before sightseeing. Travel Managers should get to know what’s most important to individual Travelers as they book trips so that they can be more helpful and supportive in identifying the perfect accommodations.

There is one wrinkle with business vs. leisure travel and related amenities: the rise of bleisure travel, which is business Travelers staying over the weekend (or otherwise spending additional time in cities) after a work trip ends during the week. In bleisure cases, business Travelers may also want amenities that leisure Travelers would want. Travelers interested in bleisure may also seek out the best cities for business travel .

Get Back to Travel With JTB

Air travel is starting to pick back up again in 2021 . We’re not quite at 2019 levels again, but we’re getting closer with each passing week. Is your company traveling again? If so, make sure you have the right support.

At JTB Business Travel, we help companies save on overall travel spend while assisting Travelers through every step in their journeys. Behind every service we provide and recommendation we make is a common-sense approach to business travel.

Contact us to learn more about how we can help you start traveling again.

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What is the Definition of Business Travel? (It’ll Surprise You)

by Team Falcon · Published · Updated

Table of Contents

Not sure what qualifies as business travel? Read to learn what is considered business travel and business travel expenses.

Please continue to the bottom of this article for instructions about how to deduct business travel expenses.

Introduction

The simplest business travel definition is travel that is undertaken for business purposes. Business travel does not include daily commutes. However, that does not really get to the gist of the question we’re really trying to answer.

More specifically, according to the IRS, the definition of business travel is travel the taxpayer does, ‘away from their home’ for business purposes.

In this post, we go over the definition of business travel. We also provide a business travel definition for the purpose of expenses. This includes what qualifies as business travel expenses for tax deduction purposes and how to deduct business travel expenses. This post includes the information needed for both personal and business tax returns.

For companies, business travel is a significant expense. For most companies, business travel is the largest expense. Therefore, it is important to understand the definition of business travel for expenses and accounting purposes. This way, both companies, and individual maximize their cost savings.

What is the definition of business travel?

According to the IRS , travel is considered ‘business travel’ and qualifies for tax-deductible business travel expenses when the travel is ‘away from home’ for a duration longer than an ordinary day’s worth of work. The IRS defines ‘away from home’ as outside the entire city or general area outside the location of your main place of business. Also, a duration longer than a day’s worth of work typically means the business traveler stays overnight.

What business travel expenses are tax deductible?

The IRS defines business travel expenses as tax deductible if they are ‘ordinary and necessary’ expenses incurred while traveling away from home for work. These expenses include transportation, lodging, meals, entertainment, and incidentals (such as tips). Business travel expenses are divided and grouped into different categories (as listed below). Each category often has different rules and limits about how to deduct and how much is tax deductible, which we explain in later sections towards the bottom of this article.

• Meals and entertainmtnt such as lunches, dinners, shows, sporting events, etc.
• Travel, such as by personal car, plane, train, bus, etc.
• Transportation, such as fare for taxis or other types of transportation to and from the airport, train station or hotel (including transportation between the hotel and work location.
• Lodging, such as hotels and Airbnb rentals.
• Incidental, such as tips; for example, baggage claim tips.
• Dry cleaning and laundry.
• Business calls while on a business trip. This includes business communications by fax machines or other business communication devices.
• Other ordinary and necessary expenses related to business travel.

Track your tax deductible business travel expenses with ease using Falcon Expenses award-winning expense tracker and expense report generator. Download on the app store, here .

How to Deduct Each Type of Business Travel Expense

Meal and entertainment expenses.

Meal and entertainment expenses involve taking clients, colleagues, prospects, partners, etc. out for meals and entertainment. From a tax deduction perspective, the IRS allows for 50% of these expenses to be deducted.

How to Deduct as a Business

Businesses typically reimburse employees and contractors the full amount of meals and entertainment expenses. The business then subsequently deducts 50% of these expenses from their business tax return. Businesses cannot deduct any amount of meals and entertainment expenses that were not reimbursed to employees or contractors.

How to Deduct as a Taxpayer

Taxpayers reimbursed in full for meals and entertainment expenses do not have anything to deduct from their personal tax return. Typically these taxpayers are employees of companies or contractors working under employment contracts that include full reimbursement of business travel expenses.

However, taxpayers that work as employees can deduct 50% of unreimbursed meals and entertainment expenses from their tax return. Also, only 50% of meals and entertainment expenses are deductible from the tax return of self-employed taxpayers who pay these expenses out-of-pocket and are not reimbursed for them.

Travel and Transportation

Travel expenses by plane, train, bus, or personal car to the business travel destination are tax deductible. Transportation expenses such as fares for taxis and other types of transportation are also tax deductible. However, some important notes need to be mentioned about the topic of travel when the travel is done using the taxpayer’s personal car.

Notes about travel and transportation by personal car.

The cost of travel if you drive a personal car between your home and your business travel destination is tax deductible. Also, the cost of travel while using a personal car at a business destination is tax deductible. For example, the commute between your hotel and office or client in the city the traveled to for business.

With that said, the IRS provides two ways to calculate this tax deduction amount. The Actual Car Expense Method and the Standard Mileage Rate method. The easiest method is the Standard Mileage Rate method. Check out this article for more information and a comparison of these two methods, How to Maximize Business Use Car Tax Deductions . Also, check out this page for an up-to-date list of per mile reimbursement rates for each year, IRS Standard Mileage Rate Tax Deductions . These rates are used for the Standard Mileage Rate method. For 2019 the standard mileage rate is $0.58 per business mile, $0.20 per moving mile, $0.14 per charitable mile. The IRS establishes these amounts by taking into consideration fuel costs, wear and tear on the car, and vehicle depreciation.

Business travel expenses are tax deductible by the business if reward points were not used to buy train, plane or bus tickets. The business can deduct the full amount of the expenses if the business reimburses employees and contractors the full amount of the expenses. The business cannot deduct the amount of travel and transportation expenses that were not reimbursed. In this case, it is the responsibility of the employee or contractor to take the deductions on their personal income tax return.

Personal Car Use

Typically businesses reimburse employees that drive their personal car for business trips. The standard mileage rate is typically used to calculate the reimbursement amount. Sometimes businesses will reimburse their employees or contractors more. However, whatever the employee or contractor is reimbursed, the business is only allowed to deduct the per mile amount for business travel specified by the IRS. Each year these amounts change.

Review the following post if you drive an employer-provided car and want to know about employer-provided vehicle tax deductions: Employer-Provided Car and Truck Expense Tax Deductions .

Travel expenses are tax deductible if the taxpayer paid for their plane, train or bus ticket out of pocket and they were not reimbursed. However, travel expenses are not deductible if reward points were used to buy by train, plane or bus tickets.

Personal Car Use and Consideration for Changes to the Tax Law as of 2018

In regards to travel by personal car, there are special details that need to be taken into consideration. For years prior to 2018 taxpayers employed by a company, on a payroll (i.e. not a contractor) and not reimbursed for business travel transportation with their personal car qualify to deduct this cost from their personal income tax return. However, for years 2018 to 2023 taxpayers who are employees can no longer take this deduction.

Lodging includes the cost of room and board while the business traveler is away on an overnight business trip.

Businesses can deduct the full amount of lodging expenses that are reimbursed to employees and contractors.

Employees that are not reimbursed by their employers can deduct the full amount of lodging expenses incurred during business travel from their tax returns. For those that are self-employed, they can also deduct the full amount of lodging expenses that were paid out-of-pocket while traveling for business.

Incidental expenses are the tiny expenses incurred while traveling for business. This includes things like tips, such as baggage handler tips or meal tips. Personal expenses are not incidental expenses.

Employees and contractors are typically reimbursed up to $5 per day for incidental expenses incurred when traveling for work. The company then subsequently deducts $5 per day per business traveler from the company’s tax return.

Employees reimbursed by their employers for incidental expenses cannot deduct incidental expenses from their tax return. However, self-employed, who pay incidental expenses out of pocket, can deduct up to $5 per day they were away for business travel from their tax return.

Other Business Travel Expenses

Other ordinary and necessary expenses related to business travel are tax deductible. These include things like the cost of dry cleaning and laundry. Business calls, including the use of fax machines. Stenographer fees, computer rental fees, etc.

Expenses reimbursed to the employee or contractor are fully deductible by the business. However, please consult a certified tax professional as needed.

Any expenses not reimbursed to the employee by their employer are tax deductible on the employee’s personal tax return. For the self-employed, any of these expenses paid out-of-pocket are tax deductible. However, please consult a certified tax professional as needed.

About Falcon Expenses

Falcon Expenses is an iOS solution for expense tracking and management. Scan receipts, we type merchant, date and amount, auto-track mileage expenses via GPS, and log billable hours with an integrated timer. Quickly organize expenses by time period, project, or client and easily prepare reports for email to anyone in PDF or spreadsheet formats, all from your phone. Use for reimbursements, taxes, record keeping or invoicing. Falcon Expenses is great for professionals, freelancers, realtors, business travelers, truckers, and more.

Please check out the following articles to learn more about Falcon Expenses products and services:

• How to Scan and Manage Receipts with Falcon Expenses
• How to Track Mileage Expenses with Falcon Expenses
• Falcon Expenses Expense Report Template & What Expense Reports Look Like
• What is Included in Falcon Expenses Mileage Expense Log

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The Complete Guide to Branding for Travel and Tourism

By Kyla Steeves

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Your tours and activities shouldn’t be the only unforgettable thing. Guests should remember your tour name , too. That’s where the importance of branding comes into play.

As a marketing tactic, branding personifies your tourism business. It gives you a voice, looks, personality, and values — which makes you more relatable to your guests and other travelers. Ultimately, a well-defined brand helps you appeal to the right audience, as well as leave a lasting impression.

If you want to create a brand identity or tweak your current one, this article is just for you. We outline what you need to know about positioning and differentiating your business — which includes:

The importance of a tourism branding strategy

How to create a memorable travel brand.

• 15 travel branding ideas

So let’s get started:

Frequently, tour and activity operators lose sight of their brand when they rely heavily on Online Travel Agents (OTAs) for bookings. Although these channels help to expand your reach, they don’t necessarily do your brand justice. That’s because you’re just another listing on their site — meaning you get absorbed into their brand identity instead.

Think of it this way. A traveler who books your tours and activities on Tripadvisor encounters the Tripadvisor brand throughout the booking journey — not yours. Consequently, they don’t get much of a chance to become familiar with your business. When it comes to referrals or repeat bookings, they’ll remember Tripadvisor, but will have a harder time recalling your name.

Although this may seem like it isn’t a huge deal — since you can give a glimpse of your brand in-person — it’s not a long-term solution. While listing on OTAs is still a great marketing strategy, it’s important to build your brand outside of these sites. And here are four main reasons why:

1. Branding gets more bookings

When your tour and activity company looks polished and legitimate, guests will be more likely to book with you. That’s because professional translates to trustworthy. With a unique brand voice and beautiful brand design, you’ll make your business stand out as the best option for a safe and unforgettable experience.

2. Branding improves recognition

Without a doubt, your brand is the face of your business. Guests won’t just remember your name, but your logo as well. So whenever they interact with you — whether it’s browsing your website, reading your emails, or seeing your Facebook ads — they’ll be able to recognize your business instantly.

3. Branding makes you memorable

Many think of branding as a logo and a slogan. But it’s so much more than that. From start to finish, a brand is a visual, emotional, and tangible experience that you create for your guests. When you get this right, guests will remember for a long time — not just a couple of weeks after the tour or activity. And those that think of you will be loyal to you.

4. Branding increases your value

Brand equity is the value of your brand name. Having a well-known brand name will help establish your company as a leader in your niche and give your business a boost for further expansion — like opening up a tour office in another location. Since brand equity is all about brand recognition, you can increase your value by building a stronger brand and delivering consistent exposure — which brings us to the next section

If you’re starting your own tour company and haven’t defined your brand yet, make this a priority. Early branding will provide your team with direction, and help customers grasp what your tourism business is all about.

Even if you’re well-established, it’s never too late to fine-tune your brand.  Instead of targeting a huge customer base, try thinking of fresh business ideas in tourism and hospitality, and narrowing your focus on a particular niche. Why? Because it can give you a competitive edge and improve your online visibility.

So follow these steps to build a better brand identity:

1. Craft your brand story

Every business has a backstory. There’s always a reason why a company comes to be. Sometimes, it sparks out of an opportunity, but more often than not, a tourism business starts from passion — passion for adventure , the destination, or the community.

Knowing why you started will help to uncover your brand values — which are the building blocks of a compelling brand story. By writing them out and sharing publicly, you’ll have principles to guide your business decisions, as well as a reference point to build trust and credibility.

To dig deeper into your company’s purpose, ask yourself the following questions:

• How did you start your tour and activity business?
• Where’d you get the idea? What inspired you?
• How is your company different from your competitors?
• What does your tour and activity business strive to do?
• What makes your team outstanding?

Work these answers into your brand story to tell who you are as an operator and what sets you apart. Keep in mind that it doesn’t have to be lengthy — brief is best. Nor does it have to be perfect; authenticity goes a long way.

2. Identify your target audience

It’s easier to match your brand to your target audience than the other way around. Depending on your offerings, you might already appeal to a particular group of people — different types of travelers like different types of travel experiences. So branding before knowing your target audience could lead to something that doesn’t make any sense.

For example, let’s say you run a craft beer bike tour. It’s safe to assume eco-friendly, locavore millennials will want to try this experience. But if you build a brand that speaks more to DIY, suburban mothers, there’s going to be a disconnect, and you’ll have a much harder time reaching those initially interested.

Who’s most likely to book your tours and activities then? Where are they from, how old are they, what’s their lifestyle, interests, and personality? These are just a few examples of demographic, physiographic, and geographic attributes you should consider.

Use this information to create a brand identity that your target audience will strongly identify with. You can also use it to gain insight into their communication style, preferred method of booking, and where they hang out online. All of which can help you with your marketing efforts.

3. Align with your destination brand

What’s a destination brand? It’s a shared vision that aims to generate visitor interest by promising a unique travel experience based on everything a place offers. Usually, a Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) builds the destination brand and provides direction for local businesses to follow suit.

Take Ireland as an example. Most travelers visit the Emerald Isle for the pub culture, castle hopping, and traditional folklore. So Tourism Ireland promotes it as a destination to “fill your heart.”  This brand position makes new visitors believe they’ll have heart-warming moments while also giving tour and activity operators insight into what they want out of their trip.

That’s why it’s a good idea to find a role within your destination brand. Visitors arrive with preset expectations thanks to it, and naturally, book things to do that match. If you deliver on what they’re looking for, they’ll have a positive and memorable experience — which impacts their perception of the destination, as well as your business.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you have to copy and paste the destination brand. You can still express your brand identity while playing a part in the overarching destination story. It just comes down to making a connection between the two. Like with the above example, a bus tour company might make its brand more enchanting to go along with that of Tourism Ireland.

4. Figure out your brand voice and tone

Your personality, attitude, and values shine through when you communicate with others. The same applies to your tour and activity business. Every written message — whether online or offline — reveals your company’s characteristics and mission. That’s known as your brand voice.

A clear and distinct brand voice helps to position yourself in the marketplace and associate with your target audience. However, it’s got to be the same across all channels to be effective. Being sassy on social media but helpful on the blog only makes readers confused — which means they won’t get an accurate picture of your business.

On the other hand, your tone of voice is interchangeable because it reflects your mood. Its purpose is to have an emotional impact on the reader based on the context of the message. For example, a serious tone works well for a payment request whereas a booking confirmation is better off sounding joyful.

To figure out your brand voice and tone, start by:

• Reviewing your company’s mission statement and values
• Looking at your current content for common themes
• Considering how your target audience communicates
• Evaluating your destination’s brand messaging

Whatever you come up with, break it down into three or four words. These will be your primary voice characteristics for all of your messaging. You can further describe your brand voice in a content style guide with the do’s and don’ts of writing accordingly. As for the tone, you have a little more flexibility with its use, but it shouldn’t stray too far from your brand voice.

5. Give your travel brand a makeover

Here’s where the fun begins. There’s nothing more exciting than putting together a look for your tour and activity business. From a memorable logo to unique typography, you get to make your brand pop while giving your guests a great first impression.

Visual elements also contribute the most to brand recognition. For example, when someone thinks of Google, the first thing that comes to mind is the primary colours. In the tourism industry, Contiki stands out to young travelers with imagery that plays on the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). So what does your brand design need to get noticed?

• Logo: This is the foundation of your brand identity because it goes everywhere —  on your website, social media, merchandise, promotional materials, and more. Whether it’s a logomark or logotype, the design should be simple, memorable, timeless, and accurately symbolize your company’s mission and culture.
• Typography: Believe it or not, fonts come with personality traits. While Serif fonts (Arial, Verdana) come across as reliable and mature, Modern fonts (Impact, Rockwell) give off a bold and progressive vibe. Knowing this, you can use a specific font to influence how guests perceive your business.
• Colour Palette: Similar to fonts, colours have an emotional impact on people. For instance, red means passion, green is natural and blue goes with trust. With the right mix of colours, you can reveal a lot about your business while making your guests feel a certain way.
• Imagery:  Photos and videos show the kind of experiences you offer. But images also engage and inspire viewers — helping them picture having the experience, too. That’s why you should use imagery wherever you can. Just remember that brand images should be cohesive too, so consider using presets to promote uniformity.

6. Build consistency into your tour website

This is where everything comes together. Not only is your website a digital storefront, but it’s also the face of your company. Online visitors go there seeking more information about your tours and activities. While doing so, they get a clear picture of who you are as a business, too.

For this reason, it’s important to have brand consistency throughout. That means every page should resemble the other. From the look to voice to feel, your brand should be apparent no matter where someone clicks.  

There are several ways to show off your brand on your website. So here are a few must do’s to get you on the right track today:

• Create an About Us page: Sometimes, online visitors want to learn more about your business beyond the Booking page. So share your brand story with them in your About Us section. Here, it’s a good idea also to outline your mission and core values. That way, a conscientious traveler can see what makes you an ethical tourism example .
• Use relevant keywords: Once you know your target audience, you can figure out what search queries they frequently use for travel shopping. These terms will dictate what long-tail keywords you should sprinkle throughout to optimize your website — which includes page titles, headers, body text, meta-descriptions, image alt-text, and your URLs.
• Maintain a uniform design: Your brand should be recognizable based on your look alone. So on your website, make sure you use the same colour palette, typography, and imagery on every page. As well, place your logo at the top, and create a branded favicon (the icon next to the URL) to remind visitors where they’re browsing.
• Remember your brand voice: You have written content everywhere on your website. So there’s a perfect opportunity to strengthen your brand by ensuring all of your copy sticks to your brand voice. You may even consider keeping a blog to establish this further. Just remember that whoever contributes should follow your content style guide.
• Customize your booking process: After taking the time to build your brand into your website, it’d be a shame for your Booking page to miss the mark. Online visitors shouldn’t feel like they leave your site when they go to book. That’s why it’s best to use an online booking system that doesn’t lead to a separate domain and allows for some customization.  

15 extra travel branding ideas

Branding your tour and activity business isn’t a one-and-done type of job. The more you do, the more your brand strengthens over time, especially if you make branding part of your strategic planning process . So here are a bunch of additional ways you can help build your brand:

• Hire a professional photographer to take high-quality images of your experiences
• Do the same with a professional videographer
• Partner with a travel influencer that fits your brand
• Create a Facebook contest to create hype for your brand
• Only post content on social media channels that your target audience uses
• Make your tour guides into brand ambassadors
• Contribute guest posts to publications within your industry
• Send out a survey asking guests what they think of your brand
• Come up with different slogans and test which one drives the best results
• Use Answer the Public and Quora to get blog topic ideas that are relevant to your audience
• Customize your booking notifications with your brand voice
• Design templates for your email marketing that follow your brand design
• Come up with a brand hashtag for your guests to use when posting about their experience with you
• Reward your guests for referrals with a discount code
• Let your staff take over social media to show the human side of your business

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Business Traveler Meaning And Their Characteristics

Home » B2B » Business Traveler Meaning And Their Characteristics

The business traveler has come a long way through the centuries. It relates to the period when traders endured harsh weather and inhospitable terrains to cross rivers, oceans, and trade routes in search of business opportunities. Modern corporate travelers are internet savvy. They prefer using online business travel services such as self-booking solutions to execute business travel. Keep reading to know business traveler meaning and the key characteristics of seasoned business travelers

Technological advances in communication and transportation transformed business travel into a full-fledged industry comprising online travel agencies, travel management platforms, travel management companies, airline companies, hotels, and myriad travel vendors. Organizations strive to address business travelers’ needs and expectations to improve the productivity of business trips. .

Who are business travelers?

The simple definition of a business traveler is a person who travels for business purposes. The term business traveler reminds one of a traveling salesperson or trader moving from one place to another to meet prospective customers. However, business traveler meaning in a broader perspective covers diverse objectives such as attending corporate events, trade exhibitions, and conferences, meeting prospects for business expansion, exploring new investment opportunities, and strengthening customer relationships through networking. These types of business travelers cover faraway destinations, including domestic and international business locations, to achieve business objectives. Most business travelers are employees traveling on behalf of their organizations.

Characteristics of a good business traveler

Proactive, organized, punctual, and well-dressed are only a few attributes of a seasoned business traveler. However, there are several traits that make you a successful business traveler. Adopting these characteristics is crucial if you want to become one. Note the following characteristics of business travelers if you aspire to travel like a pro.

1. Travel light

Traveling is a pleasure if you are not carrying too many pieces of luggage. Heavy baggage can slow you down. Additionally, waiting at a baggage counter and security check can be a nightmare when you have a packed schedule of business meetings. Packing well and using a single carry-on suitcase make navigation a breeze. You can quickly exit the airport and reach the business location on time. Traveling light eliminates the physical and mental stress of any travel.

2. Have a clear purpose

Setting well-defined goals for each business trip is the foundation of successful business travel. Make the objectives achievable and measurable, as planning too many things will cause disarray if something goes wrong. Having clear goals for a business trip will help you focus on specific business activities. It will enhance the productivity of a business trip.

3. Adopt technology

Successful business travelers embrace the innovative technology of a travel management platform to streamline their business travel. SaaS-based travel management solutions such as Paxes ensure end-to-end automation of business travel. You can enjoy self-booking through a smartphone app, receive real-time travel alerts, and create and submit expense reports on the go, besides assurance of round-the-clock emergency support.

4. Strike a good work-life balance

A business tour need not be a stressful experience of chasing time, missing meals, and disturbed sleep. Devote time to stay connected with your near ones back home. Choose a hotel that provides good amenities and comforts for relaxing after a busy day. Follow your exercise schedule, explore the surroundings, and plan your work well.

Needs of business travelers

Business travel can be a tiring process. Hence, there should be clear needs and requirements of travelers to make the most out of trips. Here are some of the requirements of business travelers:

• Time management for a work life balance
• Being connected with the headquarter and managers during the travel
• Comfortable and convenient trips
• Flexibility of altering the schedule
• Safer traveling conditions

How can you improve the business traveler’s experience

Though business trips are unavoidable for the expansion of the business, there are many ways in which one can improve the experience of the employees traveling places for the same. Here are some of the efficient ways to enhance the overall experience of the travelers:

• Pre-trip planning
• Streamlined check-ins
• Customizable schedules
• Flexibility in travel policies
• Travel support
• Booking high-end amenities

No matter what type of business trip you plan, adopting these attributes of successful business travelers will surely help you get the most out of each business trip. Business travel meaning is rapidly shifting with the rise of the techno-savvy and adventure-loving millennial generation. Business travel is embracing technology to automate travel booking and expense process .

Suggested Read: Corporate Lodging Solutions: Perks On Hotel Bookings

Business Traveler Meaning FAQs

What is the most common purpose of business travel.

Business development is the commonest aim of business travel.

Does a company reimburse all expenses on a business trip?

Companies reimburse all travel expenses of an employee except for personal expenses.

How does business travel benefit the employee?

Employees can visit different places, develop new business relations, and broaden their outlook by exploring the world away from the office

Why is business travel different from leisure travel?

Unlike leisure travel, business travel is non-seasonal. It has low price sensitivity and better service quality.

Which are the two challenges of business travel?

Managing the safety and well-being of business travelers and ensuring a high ROI are two challenges of business travel.

How do you identify a business traveler?

To identify the business travelers needs, one must keep factors such as business expectations, comfort needs, safety requirements, and costing in mind.

What are examples of business traveler?

Business travelers include sales representatives, executives, consultants, journalists, researchers, government officials, and more.

What do business travelers want from airlines?

Business travelers look for comfortable seats, in flight amenities, less to no delays, security, flexibility, and more such things.

How can I find the best deals on flights and accommodations for business travel?

The companies can integrate with travel management companies to find competitive prices in one place. They can also look at the booking platforms to find the best deals for flights and accommodations.

How can I stay productive and organized while traveling for business?

There are various travel management software and apps that can assist business travelers during their business trips. They can see and manage their entire travel itinerary in one place and make all the transactions directly through the software. It helps them to focus on their business objective and keep themselves organized.

What are the key factors to consider when choosing a hotel for a business trip?

Consider the location and its accessibility to various local locations, look at the reviews online from past visitors, look for various amenities, and make sure that they incline with your needs, and check with the hotel for its policies.

How can I maintain a healthy work-life balance while traveling extensively for business?

It must be clearly mentioned in the Duty of Policy that the work-life balance must be properly maintained. The employee should allot their time of the day for work and family separately. They must not work overtime and stress themselves.

How do I handle travel disruptions, such as flight cancellations or delays, and ensure minimal impact on my business plans?

If you have an integration with a TMC, they will guide you through the disruptions in travel. However, all airlines provide alternative flights in case of cancellations. You can always get travel insurance while booking your flights to ensure minimal to no impact on business trips.

A business traveler distinguishes themselves from a regular tourist by the purpose of their trip and their activities. Business travelers venture primarily for work-related reasons, such as meetings, conferences, or negotiations, while tourists seek leisure, exploration, and relaxation. Business travelers follow packed schedules, often staying in convenient hotels chosen for proximity to work, with expenses frequently covered by employers. In contrast, tourists select accommodations based on personal preference and budget, enjoying recreational and cultural activities. Business trips are typically short and focused on professional objectives, whereas tourists have flexibility for extended stays.

What are the common reasons for someone to be considered a business traveler?

Common reasons for being considered a business traveler encompass professional pursuits. These include attending meetings and negotiations, participating in industry-specific events like conferences and seminars, engaging in training or workshops, conducting market research, providing expert advice or consulting services, and overseeing company operations in different regions. Business travelers contribute significantly to their organizations by advancing business goals through these work-related journeys.

Are there any benefits or challenges associated with being a business traveler?

Being a business traveler has its benefits and challenges. Positively, it offers opportunities for professional growth, skill development, and networking with industry peers. Exposure to diverse cultures fosters cultural understanding. However, challenges include stress and fatigue due to frequent travel, disruptions to routines, and work-life balance. Logistical issues like travel disruptions and language barriers can pose hurdles. Balancing these aspects necessitates effective planning and a keen awareness of personal and professional needs.

What features should I look for in a travel expense tracking app?

When choosing a travel expense tracking app, prioritize features such as receipt scanning, expense categorization, currency conversion, and real-time synchronization. These capabilities streamline the process of managing expenses during your business trips, ensuring efficiency and accuracy. Look for apps compatible with both iOS and Android platforms to cater to your device preferences.

Consider popular expense tracking apps like Expensify, Concur, Zoho Expense, Xpenditure, and TripIt, all available on both iOS and Android. These apps offer various levels of automation and customization, making them suitable for a range of business travel needs. They simplify expense organization, currency conversion, and reporting, enhancing your ability to manage expenses effectively.

How can these apps help me manage my expenses efficiently during a business trip?

Expense tracking apps can significantly improve efficiency during business trips by digitizing receipts, automating data entry, handling currency conversions, and providing real-time updates. They help ensure compliance with company policies and enable easy generation of customizable expense reports. By reducing administrative burdens, these apps allow you to focus more on your work, ultimately making your business trips more productive and stress-free.

Pratyush is a traveling enthusiast who always looks for innovations in business travel management. He has 5 years of experience writing content on corporate travel management and working closely with expert business travel facilitators.

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Travel Marketing 101: Everything You Need to Know

People are ready to travel. Where, when, and how varies as much as the individual. Passion, timing, and budgets lead the way. A smart media strategy, combined with evocative storytelling, will transport consumers to your destination.

• What is Travel Marketing?
• Top Travel Industry Trends

Essential Travel and Tourism Marketing Strategies

• — Video Marketing
• — Virtual Reality Experiences
• — Augmented Reality
• — Increase Search Visibility
• — Content Marketing & Native Ads
• — Digital Audio
• — Personalized Messaging
• Big Data in the Travel Industry

Get Started with Travel Marketing Today

What is travel marketing and why is it i mportant.

• The Travel & Tourism market is projected to reach $54 billion in 2023.
• Revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate from 2027 of 4.41%, resulting in a projected market value of over one billion by 2027. 74% of this will be generated by online sales. 

It's clear why travel marketing is important. Having a data-driven travel marketing strategy makes all the difference in overall business performance. It promotes travel services to new markets, strengthens awareness of one's brand, and increases the rates of both conversions and sales.

Just as travelers— for business or pleasure—have priorities and purpose in mind, so too should travel and tourism brands. What distinguishes your hotel from the others? What’s unique about your location? Who are your primary targets and how are you going to make their experience exemplary to earn their affinity? It all starts with defining your audience personas, crafting your brand, and knowing your KPIs.

Top Travel Industry Trends (2022–2025)

Again, how and where we travel varies, just as much as the destinations themselves. Below are just a few ways people are traveling. Understanding who is traveling where—and why—will inform strategies and personalization.

• Travelers Go it Alone : 25% of all American millennials plan to travel by themselves each year.
• Travelers Crave Local Experiences : The “experience economy” is huge in the travel industry. Consumers crave authentic experiences that distance them from mainstream tourism.
• Going Virtual : For consumers who want to sample and learn about different places without leaving their homes, there’s the alternative of booking a private tour and activity with locals around the world virtually, and viewing in the metaverse.
• Bucket List Travel: Always wanted to see an Emperor Penguin? There’s a cruise for that. Interested in seeing the beaches of Normandy? There’s a personal tour guide for that. Chances are the journey for these experiences starts with a recommendation from a friend and a good old-fashioned Google search to get the lay of the land.
• Business and Leisure Travel : Working remotely can mean Italy as much as Hoboken. The concept of being location-independent— traveling and working remotely— has become a new mainstay post-pandemic. In turn, digital nomads are searching for locations and deals on where to work and play.
• Sustainable Travel : Most U.S. travelers believe there aren’t enough options when it comes to sustainable travel. Nearly 70% of travelers say they are more likely to book accommodations if they know the property is planet-friendly .

Travel Industry Trends Resources: Generational Marketing 2023 Marketing Trends and Predictions

One of the best travel marketing tips to keep in mind is that most customers are not really paying for products or services in their minds. They are paying for experiences . As with nearly all businesses, technology presents the travel industry with seemingly endless opportunities to connect with customers. Below are just a few way brands are getting noticed:

Video Marketing

In the travel industry, videos have long been an indispensable marketing tool. They show off destinations and hospitality businesses in their full glory. Travel marketers that lean into video creation—and that doesn’t have to equal big budget productions—will forge connections with target audiences. Digital video is an amazing way for brands to educate, elicit emotion, and tell compelling stories.

Virtual Reality Experiences—The Metaverse and You:

It’s the ultimate test vacation. The metaverse can transport you just about anywhere and no passport is required. Like what you see? Post an offer and start planning. While still in the early stages, the tourism industry is already making the jump in the virtual reality (VR) world . Over the past few years, museums have introduced more creative ways to interact with exhibits and some have even taken consumers on pub crawls. Thomas Cook , a pioneer in the travel and tourism industry for more than 170 years, is using 360 VR films so travelers can test the waters of Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt and more. And if you’re trying to reach Gen Z, they’re here and they’re ready to go places.

Augmented Reality Enhances Real-World Settings

AR, or augmented reality, differs slightly from virtual reality. AR uses apps and overlays to create an experience and show additions to a particular setting. Travel companies can use this to advantage by using AR to transport and showcase their offerings.

Increase Search Visibility and See Bookings Soar

It’s easy to take the importance of a focused SEO strategy for granted with so many other options vying for your attention, but that would be a mistake­. Not having a mindful search strategy as a key tenet in your media strategy would be like not seeing the Eiffel Tower when in Paris. A well-rounded SEO strategy facilitates direct bookings, drives site engagement, and increases overall cost-effectiveness.

Do it right, and you’ll see your Google rankings increase. Getting your brand name on the first page of results is the holy grail to success when 94% of search starts with a search engine and more than 25% click the first result that comes up.

While you may already spend on SEO, it's a good idea to have an SEO check-in from time to time to make sure you’re targeting the right folks and doing so the way they want you to.

Content Marketing and Native Advertising

Few things combine time and place to greater effect than native advertising. It’s the ultimate storytelling device, empowering marketers to say exactly what they want to say and where. A good magazine ad or digital native advertising piece will take the shape of an article—for example, by showcasing a vineyard in Napa on the cover of Travel + Leisure or a video highlighting the beaches of Mexico within a surfing site. The creative will transport viewers, and hopefully a nicely placed call-to-action leads to a website that will give audiences more of the information they seek.

A few native advertising tips:

• Create content that encourages the reader to act
• Know how you’re going to measure results: what is it that you want user to do after they read your article or play your video?
• Try to be original. If you are one of several players trying to host destination weddings, why should they pick you? Are you offering a special incentive code?
• Be authentic. Be real. Native content is storytelling, not overt advertising. It isn't directly selling, per se, but rather sparking ideas.
• Find a fit: Be mindful of where you’re running your creative and complement the space. It’s a curated audience you’re being seen in, so make the most of it.

For many, the first step to a journey is “hey Siri,” "ok Google," or “Alexa,” so it’s little surprise that increasingly travelers (and potential travelers) are turning to devices to book hotels or flights, and learn more about excursions and dining experiences. Markers can optimize content to capitalize on voice searches.

Personalized Messaging Enhances Customer Experience

The goal of effective advertising is to personalize messaging so it's as relevant and beneficial to the recipient as possible. If a travel brand is targeting a young family, it makes sense to highlight the activities for minors. If trying to become a bachelor or bachelorette destination, it may make sense to include in your ad the customized experiences available to enhance their stay (and perhaps a discount code). Leading with a customer-centric perspective distinguishes brands, creates affinity, and earns loyalty.

Data Draws the Big Picture: Big Data in the Travel Industry

The importance of data analytics to drive performance and ROI cannot be overstated and data visualization platforms play an important role in this. They—quite literally—provide a big picture of how all elements in any particular ad campaign are performing. Operators, in turn, can use this information to see what creative is performing strongest, and which platforms are driving the most visit to optimize performance.

Gathering the data enables travel and tourism entities to discern data sets and maximize budgets. Data visualization platforms, such as MNI’s industry-praised Optics , gives advertisers the ability to evaluate key metrics and optimize ROI.

• Engagement rate: How are people engaging with your content? Are they commenting, saving, and sharing, or merely scrolling past? If you have a million followers but only 1,000 interact with your marketing, that is not a great return on your effort.
• Targeting/Retargeting: Are your ads reaching new audiences and are you using data to re-engage potential leads or customers who leave your website without converting? Retargeting ads are designed to help advertisers reach visitors who do not convert right away. These campaigns are effective because they allow advertisers to target engaged customers with a highly relevant ad. Retargeting delivers strong results for increased awareness, website traffic, and conversion rate.
• Putting it all together: Let the picture of what you see tell you where you want to go, where you should be spending more, what ads you should optimize. For the effort that your business is putting into collecting and maintaining a database, you should be able to obtain an equal or greater amount of value from the insights it gathers. 

Attitudes to travel are a moving target. Whether traveling for business or leisure, going by air or train or car, the desire to travel is real. Telling your target audience how you will be providing value and keeping them safe is essential. Step #1, know your audience. Step #2, connect with them. Step #3, embrace a multi-channel strategy. To do this, it’s incumbent to keep up to date with the very latest travel marketing strategies and to partner with those that do it best.

What is a business trip? Definition and examples

If you visit somewhere for work purposes, i.e., on behalf of your company, that is a business trip. The term applies to both the journey to your destination and your trip back. In most cases, the trip is not a short one.

Collins Dictionary has the following definition of the term :

“A journey made somewhere and back again for business purposes in one’s working capacity.”

Business trip vs. business travel

The two terms refer to the same action or activity. However, their uses are not the same.

Business travel

Business travel refers to traveling on behalf of your employer generally. Although it is a singular term, i.e., business travel and not business travels , it refers to all trips for work purposes. It is a general term .

I might say, for example: “Business travel is becoming a significant part of our airline’s income.” In this case, we are talking in general.

I cannot use business travel for just one journey. For example, I cannot say: “I’m sorry, Jane is away. She is on a business travel.” I would have to say: “I’m sorry … She’s on a business trip.”

Business trip

This term refers to just one journey. We need to use the plural if we are talking in general.

For example, if I wanted to talk about my airline’s revenue, I would say: “Business trip s are becoming a significant part of our airline’s income.” I would not be able to use the singular form.

Reasons for business travel

In all the examples below, your employer is paying for travel, accommodation, etc.

• Meeting with customers or clients.
• Visiting suppliers.
• Attending a conference.
• Attending a course.
• Identify new markets, trends, and consumer traits elsewhere.
• Visiting somewhere to check the progress of a project.
• Visiting a prospect. A prospect is a company or person that you think could turn into a paying customer.
• Apologizing to a customer.
• Your purpose is PR or public relations , such as taking part in a press conference.
• The ROI from the trip is more than its cost. ROI stands for return on investment .
• Your employer sends you somewhere to fix, for example, equipment.
• Networking. There are many people you can meet away from work with whom you or your company could do business.
• Face-to-face meetings are usually more effective than using email, VoIP, texting, etc. Sometimes they are necessary.

Business travelers typically claim their expenses by filling a report , in which they list how much they spent on local public transport, meals, taxis, phone calls, etc.

Negatives and positives of business travel

Business trips may be extremely rewarding experiences. However, for some people, especially if they have families, there is a price to pay.

Regular business travelers frequently feel loney. Some of them may show signs of deteriorating mental health and even depression. According to Adam Perotta in a Business travel News article in December 2019, over 20% of business travelers said they experienced negative mental health effects.

Regarding the survey, Perotta wrote :

“22 percent of respondents reported that business travel had a “very” or “somewhat” negative impact on their mental health. Twenty-one percent indicated that even thinking about an upcoming work trip caused stress. Factors causing that angst include the toll travel takes on physical health, sleep schedules, personal relationships, personal finances and productivity.”

Traveling regularly on behalf of your company may mean missing major family events, which can contribute significantly to relationship problems.

Jet lag can play havoc with our body clock, productivity, and mental and physical health. Eating small meals before and during your flight, refraining from consuming alcoholic drinks, drinking plenty of water, and getting plenty of rest beforehand can help reduce the negative effects of jet lag.

In a Small Business Trends article, Samson Haileysus wrote that the vast majority of small company owners enjoyed their work-related trips. Approximately fifty-five percent of small business owners travel for work purposes at least once each month. Sixty percent of them spend three nights away from home during each trip.

Haileysus added:

“Surprisingly enough almost all (88%) small business owners who travel for business do enjoy traveling. In fact, just under three in four (72%) say they wish they traveled for business more often.”

Corporate travel is a huge market

Business travel is worth hundreds of billions of dollars each year globally. The biggest spenders on business trips are the United States and China.

In the United States, there are over 405 million business trips annually (long distance). For every working day, approximately 1.1 million Americans are traveling for work purposes.

The world’s most popular destination is New York City, while Shanghai is the fastest growing. Trondent Development Corp. made the following comment regarding the importance of business travel for airlines:

“Business passengers represent 75 percent of an airline’s profits despite only being 12% of their total passengers. But the money is well spent: every $1.00 spent on business travel creates $15 of profit for increased sales.”

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Meaning of travel in English

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travel verb ( MAKE JOURNEY )

• I like to travel but, then again, I'm very fond of my home .
• It's often quicker to travel across country and avoid the major roads altogether .
• Passengers without proper documentation will not be allowed to travel.
• The elderly travel free on public transport .
• We like to travel in the autumn when there are fewer tourists .
• The tragedy is that cultures don't always travel well, and few immigrant groups can sustain their culture over the long term .
• around Robin Hood's barn idiom
• communication
• public transport
• super-commuting
• transoceanic
• well travelled

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

travel verb ( MOVE )

• The objects travel in elliptical orbits .
• In 1947, a pilot flying over the Cascades saw nine metallic flying objects traveling at an estimated 1,200 miles per hour .
• The elevator traveled smoothly upward .
• White light separates out into its component wavelengths when traveling through a prism .
• As the material travels through the winding machine , excess liquid is squeezed out by rollers .
• Lead dust travels easily from hands to mouth and can't be seen .
• body English
• kinetic energy
• kinetically
• repair to somewhere

travel verb ( BREAK RULE )

• foul trouble
• free-throw lane
• free-throw line
• full-court press
• run-and-gun

travel noun ( ACTIVITY )

• They offer a 10 percent discount on rail travel for students .
• The price includes travel and accommodation but meals are extra .
• His work provided him with the opportunity for a lot of foreign travel.
• The popular myth is that air travel is more dangerous than travel by car or bus .
• Passes are available for one month's unlimited travel within Europe .
• break-journey
• circumnavigation

travel noun ( MOVEMENT OF OBJECT )

• It can be difficult to predict the travel of smoke from smouldering fires .
• The travel of the bullets and blood spatter showed that he was lying on the ground on his side when he was shot .
• This seemed to prove that light has a finite speed of travel.
• Striking the ball when the clubhead is already past the lowest point of its travel gives a slight overspin.
• The actuator then rotates its output shaft to the extremes of its travel.
• bring someone on
• non-competitor
• park the bus idiom
• play big idiom
• step/move up a gear idiom

travel | American Dictionary

Travel | business english, examples of travel, collocations with travel.

These are words often used in combination with travel .

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Translations of travel

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• travel (MAKE JOURNEY)
• travel light
• travel (MOVE)
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Definition of travel

 (Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

transitive verb

Definition of travel  (Entry 2 of 2)

• peregrinate
• peregrination

Examples of travel in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'travel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Middle English travailen, travelen to torment, labor, strive, journey, from Anglo-French travailler

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing travel

• see / travel the world
• pre - travel
• travel agency
• travel trailer
• travel agent
• travel sickness
• travel light

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Cite this entry.

“Travel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/travel. Accessed 9 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of travel.

Kids Definition of travel  (Entry 2 of 2)

Middle English travailen "torment, labor, strive, journey," from early French travailler "torment, labor," from an unrecorded Latin verb tripaliare "to torture," from Latin tripalium "an instrument of torture," literally "three stakes," derived from tri- "three" and palus "stake, pale" — related to pale entry 3 , travail

More from Merriam-Webster on travel

Nglish: Translation of travel for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of travel for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about travel

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Demand for air travel is soaring, but it seems to be a less popular choice for Americans

• North America was the only market where demand for air travel didn't increase by double digits.
• That's according to data from IATA comparing February to the same month in 2023.
• IATA chief Willie Walsh also warned politicians not to make flying more expensive with new taxes.

North America has lagged behind the rest of the world as demand for airline travel increased.

Globally there was a 21.5% increase in total demand in February compared with the same month last year, according to data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) .

The airline trade group measured demand in terms of revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), which is the number of paying travelers multiplied by the distance traveled.

International travel appeared to rise in popularity more than domestic flights . Demand was up more than a quarter compared to a 15% boost for domestic travel.

Since this February included a leap day, there might be an extra bump in comparing the data between years.

Related stories

However, North America was the only market not to record a double-digit rise in passenger demand.

According to IATA, Asia Pacific had the highest increase in RPK at 37.8%, followed by Africa at 22.5%.

But demand in North America, which accounts for about a quarter of the global airline market, only increased by 8.9%.

The sharper rises in the rest of the world could reflect an ongoing recovery from the pandemic, which happened faster in the US in particular.

"There is good reason to be optimistic about the industry's prospects in 2024," said Willie Walsh, the IATA director-general.

As well as increased demand, he cited more investment in green technologies to help reduce the industry's climate impact .

Walsh also warned politicians to "resist the temptation of cash grabs with new taxes that could destabilize this positive trajectory and make travel more expensive."

He added: "In particular, Europe is a worry as it seems determined to lock in its sluggish economic recovery with uncompetitive tax proposals."

Watch: Why Hooters Air, Pan Am, and the Concorde all disappeared from the skies

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Indiana state of emergency declared for eclipse, hundreds of thousands expected to visit on April 8

INDIANAPOLIS (WLS) -- Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb has declared a state of emergency ahead of the April 8 solar eclipse in anticipation of massive crowds coming to see the celestial phenomenon.

The last time Indiana saw a total solar eclipse was in 1869, and the next total solar eclipse visible in the state is not expected to happen until 2099. As a result, Holcomb wrote , "it is anticipated the State of Indiana will see a significant influx of several hundred thousand visitors to witness, what will be for nearly all, a once-in-a-lifetime event."

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

Holcomb's order says he expects there to be "widespread and significant impact" on the state's critical infrastructure, including transportation, communication and emergency response services. As a result, the governor issued his declaration to be able to call upon other states that are also members of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, or EMAC, in case they have a sudden need for additional resources or other help during the eclipse.

The emergency declaration remains in place until 11:59 p.m. on April 9, the day after the eclipse.

READ MORE: Over 60 Illinois schools to close so students can witness eclipse

The total solar eclipse's path of totality - where the moon completely blocks the face of the sun - stretches across portions of 13 US states as well as parts of Canada and Mexico.

For some, plans for where to fly, drive and stay to hopefully catch a glimpse of the last total solar eclipse in the contiguous United States until 2044 have been in place for months or even years. For others, the concept that this event is not to be missed might just be starting to dawn. People in both camps are scrambling - factoring in escalating costs and weather concerns - to make last-minute decisions about where to try to see the eclipse.

The latest weather forecasts threaten to throw a wrench in people's plans, with cloud cover across much of the path of totality. Experts recommend staying mobile and flexible with your plans.

The CNN Wire contributed to this report.

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Money blog: Spain to scrap 'golden visa' scheme in blow to British expats

Spain is scrapping a "golden visa" scheme that grants residency rights to foreigners who make large investments in real estate. Read this and the rest of today's consumer and personal finance news in the Money blog, and comment on any of the stories we're covering in the box below.

Tuesday 9 April 2024 09:41, UK

• Spain to scrap 'golden visa' scheme for non-EU citizens in blow to British emigrants
• Tories have stolen key Labour pledge - so how will they pay for promises now?
• Ted Baker to close 15 stores across UK - here's where
• Shell, the biggest company on the London Stock Exchange, looking at leaving for New York
• Money Problem : The monthly charge on my leasehold flat has gone up by more than £60 a month - what are my rights?
• The price of getting divorced

Ask a question or make a comment

SportsDirect.com, owned by Mike Ashley, is bringing a claim today against Newcastle United - the club Mr Ashley used to own.

It concerns a deal Newcastle has with JD Sports to offer exclusive kit sale rights.

The Competition and Appeals Tribunal will hear the case today - though it's not clear when a decision will come. 

Reports suggest Mr Ashley is seeking £1.5m in damages.

His company claims the club is abusing its dominant market position by refusing to supply its replica kit for the 2024-25 season.

Businesses are allowed to strike exclusivity deals unless they are in a dominant market position - for example, companies like Amazon or Google clearly have that status.

This case could rest on whether the tribunal deems Newcastle to hold such a position in the market.

By  Sarah Taaffe-Maguire , business reporter

As we mentioned below, there's possible bad news ahead for the London Stock Exchange (LSE) with talk of the biggest company in the FTSE 100, Shell, moving to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

There's been a run of bad news for the LSE over the past year or so. The world's largest building products manufacturer, CRH, moved to New York, while travel company Tui moved to Frankfurt. And despite the lobbying of numerous prime ministers, UK-based chip company Arm chose the NYSE.

It's been a good morning for Shell's fellow FTSE 100 constituent, the oil giant BP. It announced production higher in oil and slightly higher in gas and low carbon energy on Monday, which brought the share price to a five-month high.

Both companies are going to be boosted by the oil price, which is sticking around $90 as a barrel of the benchmark Brent crude is selling for $90.48.

On the currency market, one pound equals $1.2652 and €1.1652.

Shell is weighing up quitting the London Stock Exchange (LSE) for a move to New York over concerns its listing is currently "undervalued".

Chief executive Wael Sawan told Bloomberg that he was mulling "all options".

The British oil and gas giant is currently the largest company in the FTSE 100 index, and its departure from the LSE would be a significant blow to the UK stock market that is fighting to stay relevant.

Explaining the gap between Shell and its New York rivals Exxon Mobil Corp and and Chevron Corp, Mr Sawan told Bloomberg: "I have a location that clearly seems to be undervalued."

The oil boss said he was currently in the middle of a "sprint" of 10 quarters to cut costs.

He continued: "If we work through the sprint, and we are doing what we are doing, and we still don't see that the gap is closing, we have to look at all options."

The chancellor announced a scrapping of the non-dom status in his March budget, saying the decision would raise £2.7bn for a 2p cut in national insurance.

Labour have been committed to abolishing non-dom status for years - upon gaining power they planned to use the money to fund breakfast clubs for primary school children and additional appointments in the NHS.

The government has also adopted Labour's plans to extend the windfall tax on oil and gas companies

Facing questions about where funding would now come from for key policies, the party has today offered details for the first time.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to announce the party's plans to raise £5bn a year by the end of the next parliament...

• Labour has said it will raise £2.6bn by closing "loopholes" in the government's non-doms plan - after certain exemptions were kept in place by Jeremy Hunt;
• Labour said the "tax gap" - the difference between the amount of money HMRC is owed and the amount it receives - had widened to £36bn in 2021-22 - £5bn more than it had been the previous year;
• To close the gap, Labour said it would invest up to £555m a year in boosting the number of compliance officers at HMRC, increasing productivity and improving the organisation's "dire" customer service;
• It will also consider requiring more tax schemes to be registered with HMRC to ensure they are legitimate, and renew the focus on offshore tax compliance.

It is understood that only £2bn of the £5bn raised per year will fund breakfast clubs and NHS appointments, with the rest of the money being kept back for other uses.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to say: "I have been clear that everything in our manifesto will be fully costed and fully funded. There will be no exceptions."

The government has responded by saying: "The Conservatives have introduced over 200 measures to clamp down on tax non-compliance and we are sticking to the plan to strengthen the economy so we can cut taxes, putting £900 in the pockets of the average worker and helping families to build a brighter future."

Ted Baker is to shut 15 of its stores across the UK within weeks, the retailer's administrators have announced.

Around 245 staff will be made redundant.

It comes after  Sky News revealed  that hundreds of jobs were at risk after the company behind the brand's UK shops, No Ordinary Designer Label Limited (NODL), collapsed last month.

In a statement, the administrators confirmed 11 UK stores will close by 19 April, resulting in the loss of about 120 roles.

A further four stores will also shut "in the coming weeks", resulting in 100 additional redundancies.

These shops had already been earmarked for closure prior to the firm's collapse, it has been revealed.

Around 25 head office jobs will also be axed as part of cost-cutting plans, administrators Teneo Financial Advisory said.

The 11 branches which will close as part of the administration process include:

• Birmingham Bullring • Bristol • Bromley • Cambridge • Exeter • Leeds • Liverpool One • London Bridge • Milton Keynes • Nottingham • Oxford

Administrators said the shops were "all currently loss-making" and had "no prospect of being returned to profitability, even with material rent reductions".

They added: "As such, their closure is believed to be a constructive and necessary step in ensuring the business can deliver a profitable trading performance in the future."

Barclays has launched a legal challenge over a ruling that it unfairly paid commission to a car finance broker, underlining growing anxiety among Britain's biggest lenders about the potential scale of an industry-wide compensation bill.

Sky News has learnt that Barclays is mounting a judicial review against the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) over a decision last June that the bank "failed to act fairly and reasonably" in the case of a customer - known only as Miss L - who was not made aware that a loan agreement she entered into included a commission payment worth nearly £1,600.

City sources said on Monday that  Barclays  had recently decided to launch a legal fight but insisted that its challenge was isolated to the specific case of Miss L because of what it believed were a number of misinterpretations of the law.

According to the FOS, Miss L's case involved a commission paid by Barclays Partner Finance to a credit broker when she took out a loan to buy a car in 2018.

The case was one of two highlighted by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in January when it announced that it was responding to a large number of complaints by reviewing historical motor finance commission arrangements and sales "across several firms".

Read City editor Mark Kleinman's full story here ...

Retail sales were up in March - and are expected to grow further in the coming months as warm weather and events such as Taylor Swift's UK tour boost consumer spending, according to industry analysts.

Sports tournaments such as the  Paris Olympics , along with factors such as falling energy bills, are also predicted to boost takings as shops recover from the impact of recent poor weather and  high inflation  on household budgets.

The forecasts come after year-on-year retail sales increased by 3.5% in March - which is above the average of 2.9% for the past 12 months, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG.

Read the full story here ...

The former head of Tesco has been announced as the new chairman of the John Lewis Partnership , one of the biggest and most high-pressure jobs in retail.

Jason Tarry was at Tesco for 33 years and served as UK and Ireland chief executive for his final six years at the supermarket.

He is to take the reins of the company behind Waitrose and the John Lewis department stores in September, when Dame Sharon White steps down.

The government should ban 25 pesticides which contain so-called "forever chemicals", campaigners have said, as the potentially harmful toxins were found in more than half of the tested food and drinks available to Britons.

PFA chemicals, toxins which take centuries to break down in the environment, were found in more than 3,300 samples tested by the UK government in 2022.

As PFAs can accumulate in living organisms and have been linked to serious healthconditions, campaign group Pan UK has called for the 25 PFA pesticides being used in the UK to be banned, including six classified as "highly hazardous".

Out of all the items tested, strawberries were found to be the worst affected as 95% of the 120 tested samples contained PFAs.

Peaches, cucumbers, apricots and beans all saw at least 15% of samples containing PFAs, the analysis showed.

Spain is planning to scrap a "golden visa" scheme that grants residency rights to foreigners who make large investments in real estate.

Ending the scheme would help make access to affordable housing "a right instead of a speculative business", Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said.

The programme awards non-EU citizens investing at least €500,000 (around £429,000) in Spanish real estate - without taking out a mortgage - a special permit, allowing them to live and work in the country for three years.

 "Today, 94 out of every 100 such visas are linked to real estate investment... in major cities that are facing a highly stressed market and where it's almost impossible to find decent housing for those who already live, work and pay their taxes there," Mr Sanchez said.

From the start of the golden visa scheme in 2013 to November 2022, Spain issued almost 5,000 permits, government figures show. 

Chinese investors top the list followed by Russians who invested more than €3.4bn (around £2.91bn), according to a 2023 Transparency International report.

But Spain is also one of the most popular destinations for British emigrants in Europe.

The UN estimated in 2020 that 303,000 British nationals lived in Spain.

The scheme allowed British people with holiday homes in Spain to circumvent rules limiting non-EU citizens to a 90-day stay in EU countries without needing a visa.

The measure is unlikely to affect the property market since less than 0.1% of 4.5 million homes sold during that period were purchased under the scheme, according to property website Idealista. 

Portugal has recently revamped its own "golden visa" scheme and excluded real estate investment to tackle its housing crisis.

The European Commission has long called for an end to such programmes, citing security risks. 

More products were available to mortgage borrowers at the start of the month than at any point in the last 16 years, new figures show.

Moneyfacts said 6,307 mortgage options were on offer for house buyers, including fixed and variable deals. It was the highest number recorded since February 2008, when 6,760 products were available.

Some 335 of the deals were 5% mortgages - the biggest choice in nearly two years.

Meanwhile, the number of options for people with 10% deposits rose to the highest level since March 2020.

Santander UK , Britain's fifth-biggest high street bank, is cancelling its membership of a key lending standards body because of the duplication of regulatory standards to which the industry is required to adhere.

Sky News has learnt that the Spanish-owned bank served notice last week of its intention to quit the Lending Standards Board, citing the establishment of the City watchdog's Consumer Duty and the imminent implementation of new fraud reimbursement rules overseen by the Payment Systems Regulator.

Read City editor Mark Kleinman's story here ...

Some people eager to maximise their 2024-25 ISA allowance were moving money around just minutes into the new tax year, according to Bestinvest.

The investment platform said the latest ISA subscription went through at 11.55pm on 5 April - while the first came in at three minutes past midnight on 6 April.

Bestinvest said it was just 52 minutes past midnight when the first client maximised their £20,000 ISA allowance.

Aldi is now Britain's third-biggest supermarket after kicking Asda from the bronze medal spot, according to one set of industry figures.

NIQ data shows Asda's growth has slowed, with sales up just 0.8% in the past three months - the worst performance of any big-name retailer.

Its market share has also dropped below Aldi's, with Asda making up 11.7% of the grocery market in the 12 weeks to 23 March, compared with 12.2% for Aldi.

The cost of living crisis has seen major supermarkets in the UK battle to market themselves as the best value for money for shoppers.

Aldi's UK operation reported a 26% rise in sales in December compared to the previous year.

Ex-Lidl UK boss Ronny Gottschlich said previously that he thinks the combined share of the two budget supermarkets will overtake Tesco "by 2027 at the latest".

Here's the latest Which? survey on the UK's cheapest supermarket for a basket...

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