Business agents report soar in bookings
Members of the Guild of Travel Management Companies saw bookings rise by 10% in the first six months of the year as trading continued to improve in the corporate sector.
GTMC chief executive Philip Carlisle said the figures, outlined in its Quarterly Transaction Survey, were a “cause for celebration.”
Between January and June, the Guild’s 33 members reported 6.43 million transactions, up from 5.73 million on the same period last year.
Airline bookings increased from 2.94 million to almost 3.17 million while hotel bookings soared from just over one million to 1.36 million. Rail bookings rose by 100,000.
On a quarterly basis, air bookings in the second quarter of 2005 increased 9% over the same period last year which followed a 6% increase in the first quarter over 2004.
Hotel bookings between April and June rose by almost a third on last year, an even better performance than the first quarter where transactions increased by 22%.
“While these figures are great news for our members, they are truly fantastic for the UK economy as a whole,” said Carlisle. “Business travel is an established barometer of commercial activity and growth of this magnitude can only be a cause for celebration.”
He added the figures suggested business travellers were making better use of their trip by visiting multiple clients.
“Not only is the volume of travel picking up, productivity is on the increase as well,” said Carlisle.
Report by Steve Jones
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
In Italy, the Meloni government congratulates itself for its tourism achievements
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive