As companies scale across borders, a new SAP Concur study reveals that South-east Asian corporate travel management is moving from simple cost control to total trip value.
The 2026 Southeast Asia Business Travel Pulse Survey, which surveyed over 150 travel decision-makers across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines, indicates that the traditional race to the bottom on ticket prices is being replaced by a focus on traveller productivity and operational resilience.
The survey identifies a widening “expectation gap” between business travellers and travel managers. While business travellers now view flexibility as a prerequisite for business travel, travel managers are struggling with the manual work required to deliver it.
Key findings for South-east Asia include:
Flexibility is a must: 59.5% of regional travel managers identify flexibility in bookings and cancellations as a top three priority for their travellers.
Operational friction vs. cost: 51% of respondents cite “managing last-minute changes and cancellations” as their primary operational challenge, significantly outranking concerns regarding high costs (38.6%).
Balance between policy, cost, and productivity: 57.5% of decision-makers prefer using AI that suggests “optimal” itineraries that balance policy, cost, and productivity, over tools that merely offer the cheapest options (32.7%).
Integration as a mandate: 58% of regional travel managers now require seamless integration with HR and finance functions to ensure a unified view of traveller bookings and their spend.
Personalisation over efficiency: Over half of respondents (52.9%) rate hyper-personalisation as “very important”, viewing it as a core efficiency mechanism to reduce decision fatigue.
Why total trip value matters now: The data suggests that minor fare savings can end up as a net loss for the business if it results in traveller fatigue that diminishes performance during high-stakes engagements. As organisations navigate high-cost environments, organisations should pivot toward intelligent, automated ecosystems that prioritise traveller productivity and business resilience.
The 2026 Southeast Asia Business Travel Pulse Survey offers a detailed breakdown of findings across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines — including actionable insights on how organisations can close the expectation gap and unlock total trip value.
It can be downloaded here.
He joins from senior roles with IHG, Wyndham and Rosewood, where he led hotel openings, repositioning and operational performance.
She has more than 15 years of experience, including roles at Cheval Blanc Randheli and Anassa Hotel.
