The number of corporate travel buyers forecasting
bigger budgets for the year ahead is at a five-year high, according to annual research
conducted by Business Travel Show. 41% of buyers polled said they would have
more money to spend on travel in 2020, compared to 33% last year.
The volume of buyers predicting an increase in
travel costs was also at a record high (49% compared to 43% in 2018) and there
was significant uplift in those expecting to manage more trips (52% compared to
33%).
114 European buyers took part in this year’s poll, 56% from the UK, 35% from continental Europe and 9%
from the rest of the world.
Other highlights from the survey:
- 45% of buyers polled will have more to spend on accommodation in 2020 – an increase of 16% on 2019
- 65% are expecting to book more room nights, compared to 40% a year ago
- 41% will have bigger airline budgets, rising 10% over last year
Last year’s survey showed a downturn in numbers across the board – with fewer buyers
predicting airline, accommodation and overall budget increases. This was unsurprising
with Brexit on the horizon and businesses holding back on both decision-making
and spending. These figures appear to show a return to form and are back on par
(if not slightly above) 2018’s statistics, which is very encouraging news for
the industry.
How budgets compare year on year over five years:
20vs19
|
19vs18
|
18vs17
|
17vs16
|
16v15
|
|
Budgets
|
|||||
Bigger
|
41%
|
33%
|
40%
|
32%
|
29%
|
Smaller
|
19%
|
15%
|
12%
|
21%
|
|
The same
|
40%
|
53%
|
48%
|
47%
|
|
Travel costs
|
|||||
Increase
|
48%
|
43%
|
47%
|
||
Decrease
|
17%
|
10%
|
13%
|
||
The same
|
35%
|
47%
|
40%
|
||
Number of trips managed
|
|||||
More
|
52%
|
33%
|
45%
|
48%
|
44%
|
Fewer
|
17%
|
14%
|
15%
|
37%
|
37%
|
The same
|
31%
|
53%
|
40%
|
15%
|
19%
|
Airline budgets
|
|||||
Bigger
|
41%
|
31%
|
49%
|
40%
|
33%
|
Smaller
|
18%
|
16%
|
11%
|
15%
|
24%
|
The same
|
41%
|
52%
|
40%
|
45%
|
43%
|
Accommodation budgets
|
|||||
Bigger
|
46%
|
29%
|
49%
|
32%
|
38%
|
Smaller
|
18%
|
14%
|
24%
|
14%
|
21%
|
The same
|
36%
|
56%
|
31%
|
54%
|
41%
|
Room nights
|
|||||
More
|
65%
|
40%
|
45%
|
||
Fewer
|
11%
|
10%
|
24%
|
||
About the same
|
24%
|
50%
|
31%
|
This blog post was written by David Chapple, UK
Portfolio Director of Northstar Travel Group, which runs the Business Travel
Show taking place 26-27 February 2020 at Olympia London. Visitors can register
for a free pass to attend at www.businesstravelshow.com/register
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