Corporate travel expected to grow "exponentially"
Increasing IT penetration, an insular national industry and its government will all dictate the growth of corporate travel in China according to Amadeus.
The travel technology provider's poll of 112 Chinese corporate executives revealed "significant challenges" facing companies and the "huge opportunities" for travel management companies (TMCs).
"It is obvious that there is huge potential for the travel industry in China to improve efficiency and that as the market continues to expand more and more opportunities will become available," said David Brett, president of Amadeus Asia Pacific.
"The research findings clearly reveal both the size of the opportunity and the scale of the challenge facing the travel management industry in China."
One of the main challenges facing travel management was the relatively low use of IT automation - 80% of Chinese businesses use paper forms to manage corporate travel.
Other hurdles include a reluctance to use corporate credit cards to fund travel (90% favour cash advances) and differences in technology requiring TMCs to create bespoke interfaces.
An understanding of the Chinese government regulations was key to a working relationship with Travelsky, the only state approved computer reservation system (CRS) provider, said Amadeus.
Amadeus, itself a global distribution service (GDS) provider, conducted the survey with research authority PhoCusWright.
"This report makes clear that a detailed understanding of the market is an absolute pre-requisite for any company that is either operating in China or is planning to do so in the future," said Ram Badrinathan, GM of PhoCusWright Asia Pacific.
"Businesses which simply attempt to translate their global systems across are destined to be unsuccessful. Policies and programmes which have been tailored to the local environment are essential."
www.amadeus.com/corporations/chinareport