Business travel bookings fell by 1 per cent during the third quarter of this year, according to the latest figures from the GTMC.
The drop is the exact opposite to how the overall UK economy fared from July to September when the country came out of recession with GDP growth of 1 per cent, which has been attributed to the “Olympics effect”.
The drop in transactions through GTMC members during the quarter was entirely down to a 4 per cent fall in flights compared to the same three months of 2011, which adds more substance to anecdotal evidence that many companies stopped most of their travel during the period around the Games.
Hotel bookings were flat over the period while rail and car hire both rose by 3 per cent. Sales of other services, including consultancy services, ferries, visas, currency exchange and meet and greet, also saw a 3 per cent rise.
GTMC chairman Ajaya Sodha said: “One can only speculate as to whether this is the ‘Olympics effect’ or something more sinister. The next set of figures will be revealing with the recession officially over, everybody back at work full on and no public holidays or major events until Christmas.”
Rail and car hire continue to be the main growth areas for business travel with transactions for both up by 9 per cent on a “running year” basis, although the pace of growth for both has slowed since the first six months of the year.