Sustaining Business Travel in a Post-Pandemic World Factors Influencing Decisions in Asia Pacific

Authors

  • Colin Law Hong Kong Shue Yan University
  • Eliver Lin HKU SPACE Po Leung Kuk Stanley Ho Community College
  • Seck Tan Singapore Institute of Technology

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52461/jths.v4i02.3391

Keywords:

Business travel, Post-pandemic, Perception Risk, Structural Equation Modeling, Asia Pacific, Decision Makers

Abstract

International trade has been critical in supporting a country’s economic growth. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the business environment dramatically. Businesses have replaced real encounters with virtual platforms. Despite the gradual reopening of international borders, some anticipate a reduction in international business travel in the post-pandemic era, while others believe that business travel will never return as businesses adapt to technology, replacing face-to-face meetings. This study aims to determine the factors influencing decision-makers when approving business travel during and after the pandemic era in the Asia-Pacific region. The six factors affecting the holdback force examined include trip alternatives, general risk, client resistance, affordability, convenience, and flight and route risks. A total of 2070 questionnaires were distributed to the corporate travel decision-makers in nine countries in the Asia Pacific region. The empirical results from the structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that client resistance influences the holdback decision forces most. They were followed by flight and en route risk, convenience, trip alternative, affordability, and general risk. The analysis offers insight into the holdback decision factors that force corporate travel decisions in Asia Pacific.

Author Biographies

Colin Law, Hong Kong Shue Yan University

Dr. Colin C.H. Law is a distinguished expert in the fields of service quality and airline management. He is currently an assistant professor at Hong Kong Shue Yan University. He has made significant contributions to the fields of customer relationship management, service marketing, customer insight, airline business management, airline operations, air transport economics, and air deregulation. Colin has authored several academic textbooks on airline and airport operations, including "Introduction to Airline Ground Service," which he co-authored, as well as "A Practical Guide to Airline Customer Service: From Airline Operations to Passenger Services" and "A Flight Attendant's Essential Guide: From Passenger Relations to Challenging Situations," both authored solely by him.

Eliver Lin, HKU SPACE Po Leung Kuk Stanley Ho Community College

Dr. Eliver Lin is an accomplished academic and researcher in the fields of hospitality, tourism, and air transport management. With extensive experience in academia, she has held various leadership positions and made significant contributions to the institutions she has been associated with.  Dr. Lin is currently serving as a School Head of Business and Management at HKU SPACE Po Leung Kuk Stanley Ho Community College.  Prior to this, she was an Associate Professor at Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University United International College (UIC) in Zhuhai, China. She was also the Acting Assistant Dean of the School of Culture and Creativity and the Founding Programme Director of Tourism, Hospitality, and Event Management.  Before UIC, Dr. Lin was an Associate Professor at Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT). During her tenure at SIT, she served as the Deputy Cluster Director (Applied Learning) for the Design and Specialised Businesses Cluster and the Founding Programme Director of Air Transport Management.  Dr. Lin's research interests lie in the areas of air transport, tourism recovery, and the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism industry.  In addition to her academic contributions, Dr. Lin has presented her research at international conferences and has authored book chapters on topics related to air transport management and tourism management.

Seck Tan, Singapore Institute of Technology

Seck has a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Policy, National University of Singapore; a Master of Commerce in Information Systems & Management from the University of New South Wales; and a Bachelor of Commerce in Economics, Finance & Marketing from the University of Sydney.

Prior his academic foray, Seck was responsible for spearheading research on evaluating design developments in Singapore at the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts. He had previously worked in investment banking, consulting, advertising and the aviation sector in Australia and New Zealand.

Since 2022, Seck had been teaching Economics and Geopolitics of Climate Change, and Aviation and Economic Development at the Singapore Aviation Academy, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore. Between 2016 and 2018, he was an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. And from 2014 to 2016, Seck taught Environmental Economics in Policy-Making and Behavioral Economics and Science in Policy Making for the Leaders in Environmental Action Program at the Singapore Environment Institute, National Environment Agency.

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Published

2024-12-30

How to Cite

Law, C., Lin, E., & Tan, S. (2024). Sustaining Business Travel in a Post-Pandemic World Factors Influencing Decisions in Asia Pacific. Journal of Tourism, Hospitality, and Services Industries Research (JTHS), 4(02), 68–88. https://doi.org/10.52461/jths.v4i02.3391

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 02: Dec (2024)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Colin Law, Eliver Lin, Seck Tan

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.