Travel buyers are forecasting a confident outlook for business travel in 2016, despite broader economic challenges, according to new research from the ATPI Group and the Institute of Travel and Meetings (ITM).
For the next 12 months, 55 per cent of ITM travel buyers surveyed predict that their people will travel more, and a significant 72 per cent feel very or quite confident about their business outlook and growth opportunities for 2016.
When asked to think about the next five years, 58 per cent of research respondents stated that the amount of travel required by their business will increase. Only seven per cent see a reduction in business travel when looking towards 2020.
Confidence is also seen in travel patterns that the sector expects to see in the next five years – almost half (47 per cent) are anticipating that their people will be travelling to more new destinations.
“The economic recovery of 2015 has increased confidence amongst businesses, despite a background of uncertainty in some sectors and regions of the world. We are seeing business travel professionals feeling more optimistic about the longer term future than in recent years, and are planning to be travelling more, to a wider choice of destinations,” Adam Knights, Managing Director, UK, the ATPI Group, said.
However, it’s clear that the terrorist events of 2015 have changed attitudes for business travel professionals. When asked about their biggest concerns for 2016, the safety and security of travellers comes out as the most important factor when managing the business travel plans for 65 per cent of respondents. The next most important factor is reducing overall travel costs for just under a third (31 per cent) of business travel professionals.
“Strong, robust travel policies are a clear theme as businesses look to plan for growing travel requirements. This makes complete sense as controlling spend will always be an important factor for any business. Despite a more positive outlook for business travel in the longer term, the message for TMCs is clear – be transparent and supportive of client priorities in order to help them deliver the growth that will bring yet greater need to travel further afield, and more often,” he added.
The factor that is dismissed as not at all important by the most research respondents is offering flexibility in travel policies – 58 per cent regarded it as the least of their concerns looking to 2016. Conversely, in similar research conducted by the ATPI Group amongst business decision makers in February 2014, flexibility was in the top two priorities for the year which shows a major shift in just two years.
The disregard of flexibility in travel policies is mirrored in addressing where business travel professionals may look to make cost savings over the next 12 months. Just over half – 52 per cent – state that managing traveller behaviour is essential to delivering greater financial efficiency, suggesting that a closer reign on travel programmes is a trend for the coming year.
When asked what could greatly improve their business’ approach to travel management in 2016, if money was no object, the top response was visibility of the total cost of trips (29 per cent), with a strategic approach to duty of care and risk management coming in second (27 per cent) and enhanced preferred supplier deals with air/rail/car/hotel providers in third place (21 per cent).
