Corporate travel spending reduction is gaining momentum among European corporations amid an increasingly sinking global economy, according to an American Express Business Travel EMEA survey released last week.
The survey showed that more than 70 percent of 330 European corporate respondents were planning to flatten or reduce travel spending by an average of 12 percent in 2009.
Until recently, travel spending remained relatively strong in Europe in comparison to the sinking U.S. economy. However, several travel suppliers have noted recently sluggish demand from Europe and a spread of the travel slowdown to Continental Europe and the Asia/Pacific region
(BTNonline, Nov. 13).
Regional growth forecasts are being slashed. The European Union's economy suffered its first recession in more than a decade in the third quarter when its gross domestic product contracted 0.2 percent, the same as in the second quarter.
The 2008 EMEA Barometer also notes changes to the payment structure for travel management company services, with 71 percent of respondents using transaction fees as the basis of TMC contracts and 14 percent of respondents reporting the use of a hybrid fee model with both management and transaction fees. In addition, business process outsourcing found in Great Britain and Sweden has spread to France and the Netherlands, according to Amex.
The annual survey, fielded in September, is based on responses from companies based in Benelux, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Nordics and Spain.