The general election will take place on May 6.
Prime minister Gordon Brown this morning asked the Queen at Buckingham Palace to dissolve parliament.
Political analysts have predicted the election will be the closest in years.
A poll commissioned by the Guardian newspaper puts the Conservatives only four points ahead of Labour.
The election campaigns are likely to be fought on the economy, taxation and potential cuts to public services.
Anne Godfrey, chief executive of the Guild of Travel Management Companies (GTMC), said the election might be something of a non-event for the corporate travel sector.
"Any new of government will have an impact on business and industry," she said.
"And whoever is in office will have to address the transport infrastructure. But in terms of a direct impact on the corporate travel sector, I'm not so sure. It could be a non-event."
Godfrey, who led the GTMC's first foray into the political arena earlier this year with the launch of the Business Travel Manifesto, said she was encouraged by the Liberal Democrats announcement yesterday that it would plough almost £3 billion into a Rail Expansion Fund.
Rail, and especially high-speed rail, was found to be the most important transport issue for business travellers in the Manifesto.
The Lib Dems, who could play a major role in a hung parliament, said it would unveil the biggest expansion of railways since the Victorian era.
Norman Baker, the Lib Dem shadow transport secretary, said: "High speed rail is hugely important, but it is only part of the 21st century rail network Britain needs.
"Our plans will reopen thousands of miles of track across the country and make our railway great again."
Business travel bosses say general elections have traditionally been periods of uncertainty for the corporate travel sector; travel volumes are predicted to slow slightly at the start of May.
The Chancellor's failure to address air passenger duty in the recent budget left many in the industry angry.
A majority consider APD to be a stealth tax which was brought in to exploit the travel and aviation sectors when climate change prevention started to command political currency.
No political party has given any indication that APD will be scrapped or modified if they take power.
Perhaps the most pertinent issue facing the business travel sector is that of airport expansion.
The Labour party has already committed to building third runway at Heathrow. The Tories, however, have pledged to scrap the project should they win power.