A GLOBAL APPROACH to corporate travel management is fast becoming the norm, according to a new white paper from AirPlus and the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE).
Following a survey of business travel managers from ACTE, the research reveals that the pace of globalisation is increasing, but local barriers continue to cause problems. AirPlus' Spencer Hanlon, executive director of marketing, said globalised travel programmes are "becoming the norm, but it's not easy".
Speaking at the 2011 ACTE Global Education Conference in New York, where he presented the paper to delegates, Hanlon said: "It is less difficult to implement a programme today than it was five years ago." Travel managers would have been looking after just one market, but today the majority are handling anything up to 50 markets.
Hanlon said this was partly due to more spending on a global scale, but also because companies need to track their travellers' security more closely. Suppliers are also making it easier to negotiate global deals, and putting the technology in place to make it happen, he added.