No business trips, no expenses: companies save 50 billion euros

Sunday March 14th 2021

No business trips, no expenses
Companies save 50 billion euros

There are hardly any business trips in the pandemic. This saves companies a lot of money: According to the association, 90 percent less travel expenses were due last year. Many want to maintain this course after the crisis. Deutsche Bahn is feeling this.

No on-site appointments, no expenses: The Association of German Travel Management (VDR) estimates that, due to the Corona crisis, German companies could have paid up to 50 billion euros less for business trips in 2020 than in 2019. "We estimate that they spent a total of a mid to high single-digit billion amount on business trips last year, "said managing director Hans-Ingo Biehl of" Welt am Sonntag ".

That would be a reduction in travel expenses of up to 90 percent. The VDR estimates are based on monthly surveys among the 560 member companies. Some large corporations even saved hundreds of millions on business trips last year, says Biehl.

Radically reduced expenses

VDR boss Biehl assumes that the companies will continue this austerity course and that the expenses for business travel will continue to be well below the pre-Corona level in the coming years. Examples include the Bayer and Continental corporations and, which were each able to reduce their expense reports by 70 percent.

Deutsche Bahn is also feeling the effects of the radical slump in business trips. According to the survey, the automotive supplier Continental is not extending any expiring rail cards. Other companies proceeded similarly, it is said. According to newspaper information, the Germans already recorded a seven percent decline in Bahn-Cards last year.