VDR Survey: Minority Of German Cos. Expect Lower 2009 Spending
Only a minority of German businesses expect to end 2009 with lower volumes of travel than in 2008. The VDR Business Travel Report Germany 2009, based on a survey of 800 companies by the country's national travel management association released in English this week, found that 37 percent of those responsible for business travel are forecasting their air spending to drop. Although only 9 percent believe it would rise, the largest proportion, 48 percent, expect volumes to stay unchanged.
For hotel volume, 33 percent forecast a fall and 8.5 percent an increase this year, while for rail, the gap is much smaller, with 26 percent expecting a fall and 11 percent an increase.
The report also gives results for 2008, providing evidence the recession already was starting to affect business travel last year, with the number of business trips falling by 2.1 percent to 163.1 million-the first drop since 2004. However, companies with more than 1,500 employees saw trip numbers rise 8 percent, although they were successful in containing trip costs, which only rose 6 percent.
Exactly half of respondents said the financial crisis has had consequences for their business travel programs, with 23 percent describing these as major and 27 percent as minor.
Elsewhere, the report reveals that 25 percent of German businesses said they take corporate social responsibility into account in their travel programs, a figure that rose to 46 percent for companies with more than 1,500 employees. The most common manifestation of implementing a CSR policy is in selection of mode of transport, at 69 percent. Rail as a proportion of travel spend crept up last year from 14 percent to 15 percent, while flights declined from 30 percent to 28 percent.
The report also states that only 67 percent of German businesses use a TMC, down from 73 percent in 2005. Once again, this figure is much higher for the 84 percent of companies with more than 1,500 employees. The most commonly used TMC among respondents is BCD Travel, followed by Lufthansa City Center and Carlson Wagonlit Travel. HRG and American Express are seventh and eighth, respectively.