Corporates cutting travel
Carlson Wagonlit Travel UK is expecting a drop of three to four per cent in its traffic this year because of the economic downturn.
The drop is expected because of cuts in travel by corporates.
But Andrew Waller, CWT UK's ceo, said the fall would be worse if it were not for its public sector business and new wins.
Mr Waller said the public sector now accounted for a third of CWT's UK business and new wins in January totalled £20m.
He told a press briefing today (February 10) that he expected a 4% rise in transactions this year.
Mr Waller said Bank Settlement Plan (BSP) figures for the UK in January showed a 30% fall, suggesting a major drop in travel by corporates in the UK.
Doug Anderson, CWT's global president and ceo, said the projected figures for the rest of the world were about the same as for the UK.
He cited the US which was being hit more deeply than some other regions. Some corporates had cut travel by 50% and 35-40% was "not unusual," he said.
"the reductions that we have seen are pretty severe," Mr Anderson said. "The cuts have been implemented pretty quickly and reflect how clients see their performance this year."
Mr Anderson said clients were making fewer day trips and employees were travelling "more effectively."
He said there was some scaling down in airline and hotel class but "this is not massive."
He said CWT had also set up a team to study the technology for alternatives to travel
"We are trying to see what clients are doing about alternatives to travel. There is a lot of technology companies and we are working with them.
"We want to see if it makes sense to offer this service to our clients, to arrange access to the technology for alternatives to travel. Is it something we should be thinking about?" he said.
But he said it was too early to know what the answers are or whether CWT should proved this type of technology.
Mr Anderson said CWT was also stepping up its meetings and events service with a small team appointed last week to study the TMC's offer in this growing area.
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