Business travellers won’t switch off, says survey
Only 6.2% of executives switch off their company phone out of hours, according to research unveiled today at the Business Travel Market.
A study by Business Travel Market (BTM) and the Association of Travel Executives (ACTE) questioned representatives from large multi-national companies on how developments in mobile technology were being adopted by business travellers.
Just 30% of respondents said they made themselves available because they wanted to and 40% were available because their client or employee expected them to be.
The survey, carried out after the ash cloud crisis, also found that:
85% said mobile technology was helpful in an emergency
48% use it to source alternative travel options
66% use it to keep abreast of general news updates
73% use email and web applications to keep in contact with their family and company
70% of those surveyed using mobile applications for checking the times of flights and trains
over 40% use this technology to check in for flights
only 11% of those surveyed have booked a train or flight through mobile applications.
Paul Robin, Business Travel Market’s event director, said: “The growth of mobile technology has empowered the end user to find out information from almost any location.
“Travellers can now be more informed and therefore more decisive at the touch of button or slide of a screen.
“Smart phones and blackberries have proven to be indispensable to the business traveller and recent situations have really highlighted they can be in an emergency. It would be good to see more companies take note of their versatile uses.â€
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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