Travel Management Software Market Research Report - Global Forecast to 2030

Impact of COVID-19 on the Travel Management Software Market

The outbreak of COVID-19 has caused an unprecedented global emergency, which has negatively impacted a multitude of industries, especially the travel & tourism industry. The hotels are closed, airplanes not allowed to fly, and various travel restrictions are being put in place across all the countries. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a more significant setback to the tourism industry even when compared with the SARS epidemic of 2003 or the global economic crisis of 2009. All the countries across the globe have imposed international as well as domestic travel restrictions in response to the pandemic, thereby impacting the growth rate of the travel management software market.

Due to the pandemic, a majority of the enterprises have canceled business meetings, conferences, trade shows, and have imposed restrictions on business and personal travel. Enterprises have modified their travel safety and security policies for the safety of their employees. Professionals are working from home and are using videoconferencing for meetings, due to which there has been a decrease in international as well as domestic travel. With non-essential business travel being restricted, employers have made business travel approvals more stringent, thereby affecting the demand for travel management software. According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a decrease of 22% in international tourist arrivals in Q1 2020. The tourist arrival rate further decreased by 57% in March following the start of the lockdown in many countries, widespread travel restrictions, and the shutdown of airports and national borders which has translated into a sharp decline in the demand for travel management software for leisure as well as commercial purposes during the Q1 2020.

Depending upon the speed of containment, the duration of travel restrictions, the shutdown of borders, and the global economic recession, the market scenario for travel management software remains highly uncertain during 2020. The travel management software market was highly affected in Asia-Pacific, followed by Europe, North America, the Middle East & Africa, and South America. Countries around the globe are implementing various measures to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and to stimulate the recovery of the global tourism industry. The time required by the market to gain traction depends upon the lifting of travel restrictions and lockdown measures, consumer and business confidence to resume travel, change in the travel behavior, the global economic impact, and government initiatives to support the tourism industry. According to MRFR analysis, the demand for travel management software is expected to decrease sharply in the 1Q of 2020, followed by a further decline in the 2Q of 2020. However, the market is expected to resume steady growth by the 1Q of 2021.