Business travel in post-war recovery?
Against an industry backdrop of doom and gloom, one business travel firm says bookings are on the up.
Rosenbluth International says transactions are up 25% since the end of the war, and business travel is back to 2002 levels.
In a statement the company said: “There is a large amount of pent up demand to grow businesses right now and a corresponding increase in business travel.”
Rosenbluth says sectors leading the pick-up in activity are manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and technology, particularly sales-related travel. It says internal travel is still depressed.
Following the decision by the World Health Crganisation to lift the various travel bans in Asia, and the decreasing number of SARS outbreaks, travel in the region has picked up. Rosenbluth says transactions are up 60% from May figures in Singapore and up 80% in China.
However, while transactions are on the up, another source says the average transaction value is down. Carlson Wagonlit found in a recent survey that business travel activity has remained high. However, it concluded that business travellers are becoming increasingly cost-conscious, so travel management firms have protected themselves by introducing service fees.
The Carlson Wagonlit survey found that 85% of respondants said they would not travel first class, and 95% would not consider supersonic travel. Of those travellers who have downgraded from first to business, or business to economy, 79% said they would not revert to premium classes when the economy improved.
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