New research has revealed that 96 per cent of travel managers in small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) said they have benefitted from taking their travel programme multinational.
In a new white paper titled “Shrink the World: How to Globalise Your Travel Programme for Small and Medium Enterprises”, a survey of 194 SME travel category managers conducted by Nina & Pinta and GlobalStar Travel Management found 86 per cent manage travel in more than one country. 71 per cent do so in more than three countries and 29 per cent in more than 20 countries.
Nearly half (42 per cent) of respondents said they have increased the number of countries in their travel programme over the past two years, and 49 per cent believe their travel programme will cover more countries by 2022.
Showing the value of managed travel, 23 per cent of SMEs said they have someone in their organisation who is specifically responsible for travel, while 21 per cent agreed that suppliers and service providers are better set up to serve their needs today than they have been in the past.
The paper goes on to explore the benefits noted in the survey results of taking SME programmes multinational, including risk mitigation, compliance, savings, administrative efficiencies and an improved traveller experience. It also outlines five steps SME travel managers can take to expand their programme to cover more countries.
Steve Hartwell, president and CEO of GlobalStar, commented: “A common misconception we’ve found is that consolidating travel spend, policy and supplier choices internationally not only works for the world’s biggest companies. This paper is intended to dispel that myth by sharing an accurate picture of SME travel programmes today and outlining the many benefits that come with taking programmes multinational.”
Jo Lloyd, founding partner of Nina & Pinta, added: “Improved duty of care, better policy compliance and reduced costs are three goals amongst all companies, regardless of size, list as critical for their travel programmes. Our survey results indicate that many SMEs have reached these goals by going multinational. We hope that this white paper has provided a path that any company can follow to multinational travel management and enjoy the associated benefits.”
The full white paper can be downloaded from the Nina & Pinta and GlobalStar websites.