Business travellers have less appetite for an expat lifestyle than before pandemic

Business travellers have less appetite for the expat lifestyle than before the pandemic according to a new survey. One in ten (10%) say that expats weren’t properly supported by organisations during the pandemic.

The Opinium survey of 500 UK business travellers, commissioned by World Travel Protection, finds that over one in ten (13%) say the pandemic has put them off the expat lifestyle. This is largely down to the risks involved (14%) in living abroad, and in particularly to not being able to get home to see friends and family if Covid-like restrictions were reintroduced (18%).

Over one in seven (16%) say they would refuse a work placement abroad, of three months or more, that they would have accepted pre-pandemic (under 34s [20%] twice as likely to say this than over 45s [10%]). Over one in five women (22%) also say they would refuse a work placement now, compared to 14% of men.

However, there are still plenty of business travellers (20%) who would ‘love’ to live and work abroad, rising to 29% of over 45s.

Over one in five (21%) also say it would benefit their career if they worked abroad, and 16% say they would have a better quality of life. Almost a fifth (18%) also say that’s it is easier for them to work from anywhere now.

Kate Fitzpatrick said: “Expats are very important to a lot of business structures, but it appears that the allure of working abroad has diminished as a consequence of the pandemic. Organisations will have to work hard to instil confidence and regain excitement about placements overseas. Safety and security will play a major role in this as employees will need to know that comprehensive procedures are in place, particularly when it comes to getting home in an emergency situation.”

*Opinium online survey conducted with 500 UK business travellers, who travel internationally for business at least once a year, between 12 – 19 May 2022.