Business Travel Still Alive and Well

I don’t travel for business much but when I do, I’m always somewhat surprised to see how many people are travelling for business, and how many people do it on a regular basis.

With all the communications technology available (video-conferencing, VoIP, e-mail, social media, etc.), you would think a significant chunk of business travel could be eliminated because the same results could, theoretically, be achieved without having to fly/drive hundreds or thousands of miles.

It seems, however, that we’re traveling just as much even though it sucks up time and money, and it’s not very environmentally friendly.

It may be that when it comes to it, personal communications (aka meeting someone in person) is a lot more powerful than digital communications, even if you’re in constant contact with someone via e-mail, Twitter, etc.

The fact is meeting someone once changes the entire dynamic of a personal relationship, which is why business travel is still thriving amid difficult economic times.

What do you think? Can technology replace business travel?