What is travel really about? Business travel is dominated by one word -- not economics or saving money, but by the same issue which is driving leisure travel. Conference keynote speaker Patrick Dixon and Futurist -- lecture on the future of corporate travel industry for ATH / American Express (Amex) in Moscow.
One single word is influencing all of human history. That word is emotion: related to passions, desires to breathe the same air as the people we work with or talk to. That is why audiences don't like listening to keynote conference speakers on a video relay. Travel is about building trust with business colleagues. Emotion is about understanding local cultural context, about relating to customers in a deep way.
It is true that videoconferencing is growing 20% a year but not enough to curtail business travel. Most people do not enjoy video conferencing and prefer to talk on the phone -- unless video is between family members. In the workplace, most people are relatively uncomfortable to perform in front of a camera. Expect that to change, but the fundamental need for human relationships will drive travel.
Futurist keynote speaker and author of 19 books. Thirty years forecasting global trends for more than 400 clients, in every industry.
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