The corporate travel industry is experiencing remarkable growth, reflecting a significant shift in demand and surpassing pre-pandemic figures.
According to data collected by COCHA Corporate, in Chile, nearly 50% of trips correspond to the corporate segment, a sector of the travel industry that moves millions of passengers around the world every year and is consolidating itself as a growing business. As an example: in 2023, COCHA Corporate managed more than 500,000 airline tickets for companies, of which 80% were within Chile.
“The trend continues to rise: as of July 31 of this year, corporate travel has grown by 19% compared to the previous year, further increasing travel within Chile (86% vs 80% in 2023),” says Juan Pablo Amenábar, Corporate and Alliances Manager at COCHA. The executive adds that sectors such as Mining and Engineering and Construction have increased their travel volume by 30%.
Amenábar explains that technology has also played a leading role in the area with solutions that allow self-management of trips, approval flows, real-time data analysis, among others, which facilitates making better decisions before purchasing a trip, validating that the travel policy is complied with (mainly advance purchase), anticipating what will happen, predicting prices, as well as what day and time is best to travel, among other variables.
Among the technological innovations that have been implemented to improve the experience of corporate travelers is the eTraveler self-management travel platform that COCHA Corporate launched in 2023 aimed at all types of companies in the country and that allows booking airline tickets and hotels online (24/7).
One of the latest developments in this regard is the recent strategic alliance with Rindegastos, a platform that allows companies to have 100% visibility of their travel expenses in one place.
COCHA's Corporate and Partnerships Manager also explained that the area also addresses aspects such as sustainability, which is covered through the precise delivery of data on the carbon footprint (tons of CO2) that travelers emit on each trip, so that companies can establish objectives for reducing and offsetting these emissions.