Last week’s travel statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that 593,000 people came to Australia on business in the year to Feburary, 7% down on the previous 12 months. The GFC has clearly hit business travel hard.

It’s a similar story with Aussies heading overseas on business. Travel was 5% down on the previous 12 months despite the economy avoiding recession and the Australian dollar being worth more than ever in those struggling economies overseas.

And there’s not much sign of those figures bouncing back in a hurry. Despite heightened business confidence travel in February was still lower than it was in 2009, and well below the pre GFC levels. Could this be the turning of the tide?

Perhaps the economic downturn has brought sense to how business deals with travel. Sure you need to see colleagues and customers in the flesh occasionally, but perhaps not at the regular expense of travel costs and time out of the office.

Being away from the office is a key factor. The ABS released the latest employment data last week, showing a slight rise in employment, but there’s a trend towards part time work that is hiding the real numbers. Companies are still working on skeleton full time staff, so time spent travelling is becoming an unaffordable luxury.

All this points to a healthy future for conferencing products like IP Visuals that can connect workers and enable face to face meetings without checking in baggage or spending lonely nights in hotel rooms.

What’s more, the ease and convenience of any to any visual communications solutions means dialogue can be ongoing, rather than being rushed through in meetings that are cut short because you’re running late and your taxi has just arrived to take you back to the airport!

A 5-7% drop in business travel is a big hit for one year, but perhaps it’s just the beginning.

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