According to new research commissioned by hotel chain Jurys Inn, London is the most business-friendly city in Europe.
The survey of more than 1,100 business travellers from the UK also places the country as the top ‘go-to’ destination for business travel.
When asked about where they travel, 52 per cent of respondents said London is one of the three cities they visited the most frequently, followed by Manchester (29 per cent) and Liverpool (19 per cent).
Furthermore, participants named London the friendliest city for business travellers, followed by Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam and Manchester.
Cities such as Cardiff, Aberdeen and Glasgow were more popular with people in the media, marketing, advertising and PR industries, according to the research.
The most common reason participants gave for business travel in the past year is meetings with clients (cited by 40 per cent), followed closely by training and development (37 per cent). Other reasons include conferences (36 per cent), meetings with colleagues in different offices (33 per cent) and exhibitions or trade shows (26 per cent).
When asked about their biggest frustration with off-site meetings or conferences, 26 per cent of respondents said the programme or agenda was boring and not of interest, while a fifth (21 per cent) claimed poor planning was their main grievance. A poor selection of food and beverage was cited by 13 per cent of business travellers.
With Brexit on the horizon and many companies focused on international growth, 34 per cent of business leaders are planning to increase the number of trips for employees in the next 12 months, while 54 per cent foresee the same amount of travel as the previous year.
Commenting on the findings, Jason Carruthers, managing director of Jurys Inn, said: “It comes as no great surprise that London is the most frequently visited UK city for business purposes, but it is fantastic to see that our respondents consider London the most business-friendly city in Europe, with Manchester and Liverpool also featuring highly in the ranking. It’s also extremely encouraging to see that Manchester ranked within the top five friendliest destinations in Europe, ahead of Frankfurt and Brussels.
“As the environment for business in the UK and Europe continues to flourish, so too has the travel and hospitality industry as it serves the needs of businessmen and women travelling across the globe. However, if the UK hospitality industry fails to capitalise on its position as an established international destination for companies of all shapes and sizes, our European neighbours and cities further afield, will profit from business travellers seeking alternative venues.”
jurysinns.com