Business travel represents a substantial force in the global economy. Just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, it contributed to more than USD 1.2 trillion, about 25 percent of the travel and tourism sector’s overall economic impact, to the global GDP. Businesses had resumed spending on travel after substantial declines in 2008 and 2009.

A research by Global Business Travel Association Foundation had found that for every one percent change in business travel spending, the US economy typically gains or loses 74,000 jobs, USD 5.5 billion in GDP, USD 3.3 billion in wages and USD 1.3 billion in taxes. The report also stated that personal vehicle (35 percent) was the most popular mode of transportation among US business travellers in 2016, followed by airplane (28 percent) and rental cars (13 percent).

Internal travel encompasses trips taken for intracompany purposes, where employees participate in activities such as training, team building or inspection of field operations. External travel, on the other hand, refers to travel done by employees for engagements outside the company, including in-person meetings with clients and suppliers, trade conferences and customer sales calls.

"Obstacles to business travel, such as cumbersome visa protocols and long flight connections, constrain access to knowhow and limit growth opportunities, especially in developing countries," said Frank Neffke, research director at Harvard Kennedy School’s Growth Lab.

Benefits Of Business Travel

In the past, companies have experienced that, on average, 40 percent of customers would eventually be lost without in-person meetings and support.

Detailed statistical modelling over 18 years and 14 industries indicates that for every dollar invested in business travel, US companies make a USD 9.50 return in terms of revenue. The modelling also found that US business travel has yielded USD 2.90 in profits for every dollar spent.

There is a small segment of employees for whom travel is deemed essential for conducting business. This category accounted for around 15 percent of all corporate travel expenses in 2019 and includes decision makers in manufacturing companies with a wide distribution of factories and plants, and field-operation workers. For some corporate travellers, it is possible to move oversight responsibility to local personnel and/or utilise digital medium. This segment will see their business travel decline. A large segment of business travel is done to cultivate new or important client relationships. This segment will bounce back as soon as Covid-related restrictions are lifted.

A tiny portion of business travel comes from the public sector, professional associations and nonprofits. During the pandemic, many professional associations were able to hold virtual events to replace in-person conferences and will likely be more cautious in their return to travel.

Business Travel Catches The Virus!

Business travel has taken a big hit during the Covid-19 pandemic and its future is still up-in-the-air, waiting for the end of the pandemic and firming up the ‘New Normal’. In 2020, total global business travel expenses contracted by 52 percent, while managed corporate-travel spending in the United States alone plummeted by USD 94 billion (71 percent).

The World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) latest annual research shows that the global travel and tourism sector suffered a loss of almost USD 4.5 trillion to reach USD 4.7 trillion in 2020, with its contribution to GDP dropping by a staggering 49.1 percent compared to 2019. In 2020, sixty-two million jobs were lost, representing a drop of 18.5 percent, leaving just 272 million employed across this sector globally, compared to 334 million in 2019. The threat of job losses persists as many jobs are currently supported by government retention schemes and reduced hours, which could be lost without a full recovery of the travel and tourism sector.

Some business travellers expect to take at least as many business trips in 2022 as they had in the year before the Covid-19 pandemic was declared. While teleconferencing will reduce the need for some business travel, many survey respondents cited the need to meet in-person to rekindle relationships with customers, suppliers and business partners. Another frequent reason cited for the need to travel for business was a job change.

The countries most eager to travel for business once Covid-19 travel restrictions are lifted seem to be China, US and Australia. Of course, the potential increase in Covid cases from the Delta and future variants of the virus may still cause further backsliding on rising confidence levels for resumption of business travel. (TT)

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Continental played a decisive role in the world record achieved by Volkswagen's Mission Efficiency concept vehicle, supplying a specially developed concept tyre. During the drive, the near-production electric vehicle consumed just 7.51 kilowatt-hours per 100 kilometres including charging losses, or 6.89 kWh excluding them. The RID – Rekord-Institut für Deutschland certified the result on 24 August 2026, after a 1,278.36-km journey from Wolfsburg to Vienna under real-world conditions. The trip required only one charging stop and ended with 164 kilometres of remaining range.

The concept tyre achieves a rolling resistance of 4.9 kg per metric tonne, roughly 25 percent below the threshold for the EU tyre label's highest Class A rating. Because about one-fifth of an electric vehicle's propulsion energy is consumed by overcoming tyre rolling resistance, this reduction is a major factor in extending range. Tyres therefore directly influence energy consumption and the distance possible on a single battery charge.

(Photo: Volkswagen AG)

Rolling resistance arises because a tyre deforms each time it contacts the road during every revolution. That deformation draws energy otherwise used for propulsion, and around 20 percent of an electric vehicle's battery energy is spent merely to overcome this effect. Continental's concept tyre builds on the EcoContact 7, a production tyre already known for exceptionally low rolling resistance.

For the record drive, the tyre was modified to Volkswagen's specifications, producing a design that deforms even less as it rolls, cutting energy consumption further and increasing range per charge. Two elements proved especially important. The sidewall follows the same design principle used in the EcoContact 7, delivering stability without raising rolling resistance. Meanwhile, the tread compound was specially tailored to the tyre's other components, working alongside the carcass and tread pattern to minimise energy losses.

(Photo: Volkswagen AG)

An additional advantage came from a new manufacturing process. During production, the initially soft green tyre is hardened in a mould under heat and pressure through vulcanisation, but Continental did not heat it uniformly as in conventional production. Instead, different areas were exposed to different temperatures, with the tread cured differently from the sidewall. This allowed each zone's properties to be optimised more precisely, resulting in even lower rolling resistance for the tread.

Rolling noise also shaped the tyre's development, and its tread pattern was specifically designed to achieve particularly low noise levels. Engineers varied the spacing and angles of the tread blocks so that the noises they generate partially overlap and cancel each other out, following a principle similar to noise-cancelling headphones. For the Mission Efficiency vehicle, this means the tyre improves efficiency while also ensuring a notably quiet driving experience, an aspect of growing importance because tyre noise becomes far more noticeable without an internal combustion engine.

The ID. Polo production car on which the Mission Efficiency is based already comes fitted with Continental's EcoContact 7 as standard, but the record project took the two companies further. Continental developed the tyre in close collaboration with Volkswagen's vehicle and aerodynamics engineers from a very early stage. The collaboration extended into the vehicle's design, with the tyre's colour-accented sidewall incorporating styling elements from the concept.

During the record drive, the vehicle set three benchmarks: the world's most aerodynamic near-production vehicle with a drag coefficient of 0.158, the most efficient four-seat electric vehicle in its class in a single controlled drive and the most economical near-production four-seat electric vehicle on an officially documented long-distance real-world drive. Largely based on production components from the ID. Polo, including its battery and drivetrain, the Mission Efficiency demonstrates the efficiency gains possible through targeted improvements to existing electric-vehicle technologies.

Dr Christian Strübel, Continental’s expert in rolling resistance for passenger-car tyres, said, “The record shows that increasing the range of electric cars does not necessarily require larger batteries. Significant opportunities lie in the successful interaction of all vehicle components. Tyres make a crucial contribution. Together with Volkswagen, we’ve demonstrated what’s possible when vehicle, aerodynamics and tyre development are aligned from the very beginning.”

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Liberty Tire Recycling has announced that its employees, business partners and supporters raised USD 195,000 in 2026 for Blessings in a Backpack, a national nonprofit providing weekend food to school-aged children facing hunger. The announcement coincided with National Childhood Hunger Awareness Day and World Food Day, marking the third consecutive year of the company's partnership with the organisation.

Funds were generated through the Liberty Cares Charity Golf Tournament and contributions from partners. The collaboration originated from employee feedback, as workers expressed a desire to support a cause addressing both children's needs and hunger – two areas Blessings in a Backpack serves.

Thomas Womble, CEO, Liberty, and Charlie Alutto, Chair of the Board, at the 2026 Liberty Cares Charity Golf Tournament.

In late October, employees at five locations – Santa Fe Springs, California; Midlothian, Texas; Minerva, Ohio; Jackson, Georgia; and Portland, Oregon – will pack 6,500 weekend meal bags for local programmes. Additionally, staff companywide will create handwritten notes of encouragement for the bags. Liberty previously raised USD 87,805 in 2024 and USD 132,785 in 2025, bringing its three-year total to over USD 415,000.

Liberty employees in Oregon write notecards for Blessings In A Backpack.

Thomas Womble, CEO, Liberty Tire Recycling, said, “In three years, we have raised over USD 400,000 and packed more than 16,000 food packs for kids in need. This is only possible with the employees at Liberty giving their time and effort to this project, and customers and partners committing their time and resources. Thank you to everyone who made this possible – I am proud to be part of this team.”

Alexis Hartman, Manager of Corporate Partnerships, Midwest, Blessings in a Backpack, said, "Thanks to the generosity of Liberty, their leadership, customers and employees as well as the outings’ donors and sponsors, over USD 195,000 was raised this year to benefit the mission and work of Blessings in a Backpack. We couldn’t be more grateful to the entire Liberty community for the care, compassion and kindness provided year after year to support children in need of our services. Thank you from the bottom of our backpacks!”

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Hankook Tire marked a significant design milestone on 15 October at the Capitol Theatre in Singapore, where the company was honoured during the Red Dot Award 2026 ceremony for Design Concept. The tyre manufacturer celebrated two Best of the Best accolades, with design team members present to represent the winning projects.

The recognition stemmed from the competition’s Design Concept category, where Hankook secured two top honours and four Winner awards. The winning entries, announced in August, included the i-Flex Gen 2, an airless concept tyre, and Medi Buddy, a futuristic medical mobility design. The i-Flex Gen 2 represents an evolution of the company’s airless tire research since 2015, introducing an industry-first circumferential spoke structure that improves low-noise performance and driving stability while enhancing visual appeal for future electric and autonomous vehicles.

Medi Buddy emerged from an industry-academic partnership with Korea Design Membership Plus, a student talent programme managed by the Korea Institute of Design Promotion. Operating under the Mobile AI 2030 theme, the concept combines autonomous driving and artificial intelligence into an interactive smart IV system aimed at engaging hospitalised children, reducing their fear of hospitals and offering emotional comfort.

The award-winning concepts will be displayed in a special exhibition at the Red Dot Design Museum Singapore. The Red Dot Design Award ranks among the world’s three major design honours, alongside Germany’s iF Design Award and the US-based International Design Excellence Awards. Hankook previously became the first Korean company to earn the Red Dot Luminary honour in 2015, followed by the tyre industry’s first iF Gold Award in 2016 and an IDEA Bronze Award in 2017, completing a sweep of the top three global design awards.

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The German Rubber Industry Association (wdk) reported in Frankfurt am Main that used tyre disposal and recycling firms continue to face substantial shortages of used tyres, undermining a secure supply of secondary raw materials essential to a resilient and sustainable circular economy.

According to wdk Technical Director Stephan Rau, roughly 84,000 tonnes of used tyres were unaccounted for last year. These, and potentially far larger volumes, are suspected to have been exported outside the EU for incineration or pyrolysis under dire health and environmental conditions, removing them from German recyclers and the circular economy.

Although the loss rate has edged downward, the association argues that systematically recording waste tyres and their recycling pathways remains the most effective countermeasure. The wdk and allied organisations have urged this approach for years, describing it as easy to implement and capable of significantly strengthening the circular economy, provided political will emerges to support a functioning recycling system.

Rau also cited newly published statistics showing Germany generated 522,000 tonnes of waste tyres in 2025. Of that total, 210,000 tonnes became granules and rubber powder, now nearly triple the amount thermally recycled in the cement industry – a development the wdk called strongly positive, while noting that comprehensive quantity recording could enable substantially more tyres to be recycled.

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