About half of 600 European business travelers responding to a recent survey expected their business travel activity during the next 12 months to remain relatively unchanged. Slightly more respondents said their travel would decrease versus those expecting it to increase (26 percent versus 22 percent). Meanwhile, 40 percent of respondents said their firms during the past six months have enacted or revised travel policies.
These findings were based on a late April/early May survey by research firm Vanson Bourne, commissioned by the National Business Travel Association. Encompassing travelers in France, Germany and the United Kingdom, the poll uncovered both common perceptions and regional differences. It also found several distinctions based on organization size.
For example, those representing larger companies (with at least 3,000 employees) were more likely than those from smaller companies to say their organizations have policies that specify which airlines, hotels or form of payment to use and which class of service or ticket type to book, as well as direct travelers to use specific travel management booking tools.
Furthermore, "Bigger businesses are more likely to limit business travel or find alternative ways to conduct business," according to the authors of the survey who noted, for example, that larger firms appeared more likely to rely on conference calls.
Overall, the most likely factor negatively influencing business travel activity since last fall was the global economic situation (cited by 50 percent of survey respondents), followed by "the hassle factor" (44 percent), environmental impact (38 percent) and terrorism concerns (21 percent).
By country, more of those based in France (28 percent) expected to travel more, compared with those based in Germany (18 percent) and the United Kingdom (21 percent). Conversely, 39 percent of UK respondents expected to travel less, versus 26 percent of German respondents and 15 percent of French ones.
Half of all respondents expecting to travel less "believe this will have a negative impact on their business," the report concluded.
Overall, four in 10 respondents said their organizations during the past six months have enacted travel policy changes. Thirty-six percent of the total noted "use of a cheaper [airline] option than normal," (with about 30 percent specifically citing "stricter policies regarding purchasing tickets in advance") while 4 percent said airline travel "was no longer available." About one-third said they now are required to book cheaper hotel options than before, and three in 10 said employers "are now stricter on the use of corporate credit cards."
When compared with all other travelers in the survey, those from the largest organizations were more likely to note that they are asked to abide by a range of policy elements. Nearly three-quarters of those said they are guided by class-of-service policies, while just over half are directed to specific hotels.
Geographically, half of UK respondents said their organizations have rules on which form of payment to use for travel expenses, whereas roughly one-third of French and German respondents reported such rules. French travelers (46 percent) were more likely than UK and German travelers (each 36 percent) to indicate policies specifying certain airlines.
Meanwhile, 46 percent of all respondents said their employers' environmental policies impacted their business travel activity. Of that group, 44 percent said they were more often using public transportation and about one-third noted they attend more meetings per trip.
"The environmental impact of business travel is a consideration, but, perhaps unsurprisingly given the economic downturn, it's not as major a concern as perhaps it might have been 12 months ago," according to the report. "Rail travel, however, seems to be a viable alternative to air travel in France and Germany, though the UK still has issues around convenience."