p28 biz trav nov28 25/11/08 11:01 Page 28
Business travel
Martin Ferguson
020 7921 8011
maferguson@ttgbusiness.com
Keep up with the latest business travel news at ttgbusiness.com
Corporates plan to
cut travel – Amex
Adam Coulter.
as the migration of online traffic (40%), optimis-
ALMOST three-quarters of corporates globally ing travel policy (26%) and purchasing (18%).
intend to cut or freeze their travel budgets next The survey also showed a tightening of travel
year – with the UK showing the biggest drop. policies and increased emphasis placed on areas
A third of UK corporates said they will cut such as security and the environment.
their travel budgets in 2009, compared with For example, 30% of companies’ travel
a quarter in northern Europe and just 17% in policies balance the need to support the safety of
France, according to American Express’s annual their employees with the environment. Of these,
European Barometer. 76% prefer employees to take a train where
However, the findings also showed corporates possible, while just over a third rent cars with
New York eyes
will continue to use TMCs to negotiate rates and reduced consumption by adopting green fleets.
implement travel programmes. In Europe, the Nordic countries lead the way in
David Herrick, Amex’s senior vice-president of environmental concerns.
events bookers
business travel for the EMEA region, said: “Travel Almost two-thirds of companies surveyed said
policies are being tightened across the board. they had made more use of videoconferencing.
“But with companies seeking to apply these The Amex Barometer 2008 was carried out by
TRAVEL management companies and meetings across their businesses, TMCs are increasingly Concomitance, which surveyed 330 companies
and events bookers will be targeted in a campaign viewed as partners to help companies to in eight European countires in September 2008.
by destination marketing company NYC&Co. maximise their return on investment.”
It is the first time that the organisation will be The key areas in which corporates use TMCs
Amex European Barometer 2008
shifting its focus from leisure to business travel, are for choosing and implementing self-booking
with the aim of attracting more UK corporates to tools (57%) and managing these tools (84%).
hold meetings and events in the city next year. Corporates also said they used TMCs to nego- 33%
of UK corporates say they will
cut their travel budget in 2009
The campaign will launch in the UK on Decem- tiate rates (57%), use pre-negotiated rates (28%)
ber 1 ahead of other European markets next year. and implement a reservations system (41%). 84%
of corporates use TMCs to help
manage self-booking tools
Fred Dixon, NYC&Co’s senior vice-president for The Amex barometer showed companies were
tourism development, said: “We haven’t marketed placing increasing emphasis on value. 57%
of corporates use TMCs to
negotiate rates
New York City as a conference destination before. And 60% of respondents said they had
“We will be targeting and meeting with corpo- adopted an approach proposed by their TMC. 30%
of travel policies include a
commitment to the environment
rates, mice divisions within TMCs and agencies. These included driving lower direct costs, such
“As business traffic is pulling back we want to
put more of a focus on mice. We’ve had a lot of
good feedback from the companies who have
chosen to hold a meeting here, but we think
BA to free space in Club Europe cabins
there is more we can do.”
NYC&Co has appointed a dedicated person to BRITISH Airways will be changing its Club Europe said: “We have had great feedback from those
liaise with the trade. It will also bring together cabins to a 2-2 configuration from February, travellers who sit on the left which is why we
its convention development and tourism teams. chief executive Willie Walsh has confirmed. have decided to leave the middle seat empty.”
The city tourism body will attend several events The carrier will not be redesigning the cabin, Head of corporate sales Richard Tams said the
next year including EIBTM, Confex, the Business but is instead opting not to sell the middle seat. airline had spent a number of years wondering
Travel Show, ITM and the GTMC conference. The move has been prompted by business what to do with Club Europe and this moved
It will be organising fam trips to the city and travellers, who have long-demanded enhance- seemed to be the most sensible option.
aims to show off the other four boroughs, rather ments in the Club Europe cabin. “There are still many business travellers who
than just focus on Manhattan. NYC&Co has 18 At present, the cabins feature two seats with a fly Club Europe and this will give them the extra
offices covering 25 countries. Dixon added: “We’ve small gap on the left side and three on the right. space they have been asking for. It also means
never had formalised plans in each market.” Speaking at a media event last week, Walsh that no passenger will be sat next to each other.”
28 28.11.2008
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