52% of travellers expect same number of trips
Business travel is holding up in Europe with most travellers (52%) expecting to make the same number of trip in the next 12 months as now.
A new survey of 600 European business travellers by the National Business Travel Association (NBTA), found that 22% of the travellers expected to make more trips while 26% said the number would fall.
The research, conducted with Vanson Bourne, a specialist research agency, found that half of those who said they would travel less thought it would have "a negative impact on their business."
But the travellers also acknowledged that it was necessary to cut costs if travel was to continue.
Other findings of the survey were:
- 62% of travellers said convenience was the most important factor when booking
- Only 25% said cost was the most important factor
- 36% said their companies had mandated cheaper travel in the last six months.
This included moving to cheaper airlines and tickets and cheaper hotels.
The survey also found that green attitudes were impacting travel with 45% saying that that they had some affect on their choice of travel.
Of this number, 44% said they were using public transport more while 33% said they were sharing trips with colleagues.
When choosing to go by train, 54% said that price was the priority although 51% said rail was right for journeys under four hours.
Only UK respondents differed by saying that convenience of location was more important than price.
NBTA said this suggested that the choice of rail over air in the UK was affected by the travellers' view of the reliability of the country's rail network.
Kevin Maguire, NBTA's president and ceo, said: ""While the majority of business travellers understand the need to be prudent around costs, the most important issue for them when booking travel is convenience.
"That's why it is so vital that travel managers work with their communications colleagues to inform employees how travel changes are designed to meet both goals - cutting costs while offering convenience.
"Getting employees to adhere to corporate travel policies can lead to significant cost savings.
"But stricter policies are most effective as part of a broader approach to maximizing travel value.
"It's a balancing act to find the right mix of preferred supplier arrangements, travel polices, employee communications, and enforcement."
www.nbta.org