Always by your side

Entering a new year should be about positivity, hope and fresh beginnings. Sadly, the arrival of Omicron has taken the shine off the start of 2022 but there's still plenty for the business travel community to be cheerful about. Reinstated travel restrictions and tighter testing regimes have left us all feeling frustrated and deflated but it won't be long before the world will open up again and the recovery will be back on track. Turn to page 14 and you'll see 10 reasons why, despite the current obstacles, industry leaders agree we're starting this year in a much better place.

After all the challenges and uncertainty of the last 22 months, we've decided to do something different with our January/february issue. We've reached out to those in the know and asked them for their expert insights. This Trends Special is packed full of ideas, advice and observations so that you can embark on the next 12 months and beyond feeling better prepared, better equipped and better informed.

On page 10, our industry experts suggest what travel buyers and managers should have on the top of their to-do lists, so get your checklist at the ready. In our main feature, starting on page 18, we dedicate nine pages to corporate travel trends to watch. Some you'll already be familiar with but our commentators have come up with others that you might not have registered – and crucially they've shared their thoughts on how best to respond to them.

On behalf of the team at The Business Travel Magazine I would like to wish you all the very best for 2022 but also to let you know that, whatever the coming year brings, we will be there alongside you and will be doing all we can to make sure you're business ready.

Bev Fearis, Editor