Over the past 200 years we have seen incredible leaps in communications technology. Can you name a single one that has ended up reducing people's travel?
Yes, the internet and online accounting software has massively reduced my travel and my clients' travel. I run a small accountancy practice. 20 years ago, we'd have at least yearly meetings as standard with all clients, and all clients would be travelling to our offices to drop off their "books". Now, with email, online accounting software, etc. we can go many weeks without a single client coming through the door and without leaving our offices. We have clients all over the UK and many overseas who we never even speak to, not even by phone, as all support is done via email and we have real time access to their computerised accounting records so there are no "books" to pass between us anymore. Today is Thursday, and not a single client has even phoned us this week, yet we're getting dozens of emails every hour.
We get the occasional new client who thinks they need a face-to-face meeting, simply because that's what they're used to, usually if they've been working for big organisations where face to face meetings are "necessary" simply due to momentum of that's what they're used to. But we just push back and continue working email/remotely and they soon realise they don't need to waste their (and our) time to come for an unnecessary meeting.
I have no doubt that in some cases, face to face meetings are essential, but from my experience, the majority simply aren't. We have meetings where there is something particularly & unusually complex to discuss, like a business being sold/bought or takeover, but for the vast majority of the client interaction, it's just not needed.
I have numerous clients engaged in marketing, training, development, etc. - they're all working from "home based" offices here in the North West, and their clients include blue chip companies, banks, etc., mostly based in London, but their travel is virtually trivial - just the occasional trip, maybe once or twice a month to London where they stay for a couple of days and see a few clients at once. Outside those visits, it's all email, skype, conference calls, etc.
We usually have a laugh at another accountancy practice just 2 doors away. We know the partners there as we all worked together as trainees 40 years ago. Whenever we walk past, there are clients coming and going, dropping off/picking up boxes of "books" etc. Whenever we talk to them, they're always whingeing about how "busy" they are, how they can't get any work done because of constant interruptions from clients coming in, etc. We keep trying to get them to embrace email and online software, but they just can't see it as they're bogged down with the "face to face" mentality.