Nearly half of Kiwi businesses said their relationships suffered due to less face-to-face interaction in 2020 – 2degrees
research
As Cabinet announces the opening of a trans-Tasman bubble on 19 April, the 2degrees’ Shaping Business Study, now in its second year, reveals the decision will come as a relief to Kiwi business decision makers, a third of whom
say they will only travel once there is no requirement to quarantine*.
The telco’s first iteration of the Shaping Business Study in 2020 looked at views overall, and for more than a quarter (28%) of business decision makers, the pandemic put travel
in the no go zone. A year later and this figure has dropped to just 12%, suggesting Kiwi businesses are ready to do
business in-person.
On their appetite for trans-Tasman travel, 42% of business decision makers who responded to the 2021 survey said they
intend to travel for business in Australia at least annually when the bubble opens. This is in stark contrast to 2020,
when a third said they would not be doing any business in Australia at all.
Andrew Fairgray, Chief Business Officer at 2degrees, says that while the company’s network has played a critical role in
keeping trans-Tasman businesses connected in the last year, the company wants to make it just as easy for people
travelling for business to communicate.
“Prior to Covid, we looked at where our business customers were travelling to and found that more than half were
crossing the ditch to Australia regularly. That’s why we committed to making roaming in Australia available at no cost
for all 2degrees Business customers when the bubble opens.”
The decision means that 2degrees Business customers can now roam in Australia at no extra cost to use minutes, data and
text.
“I’m proud to say that we lead the market with our business roaming offer,” says Andrew. “Our research this year
revealed that nearly half (48%) of employing business decision makers believe their business relationships suffered due
to less face-to-face interaction in 2020 – an indication of how important doing business in-person really is.”
For more information about 2degrees Business, visit www.2degrees.nz/business.