New Travel Impact Index Helps Businesses Measure Value Beyond Cost In Corporate Travel

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The launch comes amid wider uncertainty and material change across the managed travel sector.

Though travel manager confidence remains high — recent Institute of Travel Management research found that 84% of business travel professionals feel their roles are secure — many are facing increasing pressure to explain the value of travel in business terms.

Change in corporate travel is being driven by advances in AI and automation, as well as ongoing economic and geopolitical pressures. Senior leaders are therefore applying greater scrutiny to costs, risks and measurable returns.

Moving beyond cost to impact

"Automation and accessible data can give the impression that managed travel is straightforward and easily reduced to price," said Jo Lloyd, global head of customer management and consulting at FCM.

"The real value lies in the oversight, risk management and judgments that sit behind the transactions."

The Travel Impact Index is designed to move the conversation beyond operational reporting and cost alone. It provides a practical framework for assessing programme strength across governance, risk management, data visibility, supplier strategy and stakeholder engagement.

The underlying assessment framework is built around structured questions that explore how programmes support business priorities, manage exposure, influence behaviour and enable outcomes.

Focus areas for assessment

Rather than focusing solely on savings, the Index encourages organisations to examine:

• What risk and corporate liabilities have been avoided• What traveller friction has been removed• What behaviour has changed• What business outcomes travel has enabled

Many travel leaders recognise the importance of demonstrating programme value, yet cost remains a dominant metric in board-level conversations. FCM Consulting believes this reflects a lack of practical tools and language rather than a lack of value.

"If the business understands the value of the travel programme, it will invest in it. If it does not, it will not. The Travel Impact Index helps travel leaders present their programme in terms that senior decision-makers recognise," Lloyd added.

The Travel Impact Index is available globally. More information can be found here.