Welcome to www.businesstraveleurope.com a new website and free, weekly newsletter for the business travel industry of Europe.
Each Thursday we plan to offer six or more news stories affecting the industry in Europe, a Comment section and an Analysis section.
This week, among other stories, we look at the American Express Symposium in London which attracted buyers from across the continent, the new survey on the business travel market in Germany, the latest in the campaign by European agents to persuade IATA to change its rules and Alitalia's continuing efforts to survive, the last two of which look to be long running stories.
But first a word on www.businesstraveleurope.com
Europe is increasingly treated as one region rather than a collection of countries with different languages, currencies cultures and customs by travel management companies, multi-nationals, and hotel chains. There is increasing consolidation among agencies and even airlines through a mix of consolidation and alliances are working more closely together. The pace of these changes is likely to increase rather than slow down.
Ron DiLeo, American Express's senior vice president head of business travel EMEA, made two pertinent remarks during his Symposium presentation last week: “There are 21 different markets in Europe and we should be able to bring them together and create a European force” and “The European market plan over the next 18-24 months is where most will happen in the shortest space of time.”
It seems natural that the industry should be looked at from a European view andwww.businesstraveleurope.com will hope to do just that, reporting, analysing and commenting on these changes as they happen.
There is no shortage of issues. Mr DiLeo referred in his address to the rapid take up of online transactions in Europe. This is likely to rise more sharply with the arrival in the region of the online agencies which could fundamentally undermine the power base of the traditional TMCs.
De-regulation of the GDSs, now underway and having an effect in the States, is expected to arrive in Europe next year. Already there are signs that new GDSs are entering the market place in Americas. Could this happen here?
There is the continuing campaign, initiated by the UK magazine Business Travel World, but now taken up by agents' associations and, increasingly, corporate travel managers across the continent, to force a reluctant IATA to change what they see as antiquated rules which cost the industry millions of Euros a year.
Success for such a campaign could again fundamentally alter the balance between airlines and their clients.
The airline market itself is in the grip of change. Low cost carriers have had and to continue to have massive impact on the market. Who is to say more full service carriers will not follow Aer Lingus in becoming a low cost European carrier or path of merger chosen by Air France and KLM?
Then there is Eastern Europe where the countries which joined the EC in May are set to step up their levels of business travel management. It may be an exaggeration to say that there is a business travel agent hanging about every corner of Warsaw, Prague and Budapest offering to get you “a nice airline deal” but things are busily moving there.
www.businesstraveleurope.com would hope to be an informed observer of these events and issues.
If as readers you have any thoughts, views, comments or stories, please do not hesitate to contact us in the Contact Us box provided on the homepage.