Three quarters of travel buyers say their companies see business travel as a necessary cost rather than an investment, according to research out this week.
The findings were contained in the American Express Global Business Travel Baromètre EVP 2015 revealed at the Espace Voyages Professionnels (EVP) in Paris.
One of the key findings of the Baromètre was that travel budgets increased in 2015 and at a faster rate than the previous year.
The survey also looked at corporate intentions in the near future. The chart below shows the predictions of buyers on their companies' intentions.
The research also looked at the key issues currently facing buyers. It found that security, cost control and traveller satisfaction were the most important.
Some 96% of respondents said they had traveller tracking in place but only 24% offered security training. It is important to note that 90% of those questioned completed the survey before the Paris attacks.
The Baromètre is based on research carried out among 580 buyers in ten European countries (France, Germany, the UK, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Norway) in October and November 2015. Altogether, the respondents manage more than €1.5 billion in travel spend.