Upturn in business travel this year

A survey of members of the Association of German Travel Management (VDR) reveals a mood of cautious optimism in the business travel sector.

There is light at the end of the tunnel according to the latest survey of members of the Association of German Travel management (VDR), that gained an airing during ITB conference sessions yesterday.

In collaboration with ITB Berlin, VDR asked its members to predict what the impact of the world economic and financial crisis would be on business travel during the current business year.

Their findings:

More than half of the companies that were polled, consisting of suppliers as well as German companies with their own travel management departments, are confident that there will be an upturn before this year is over.

Furthermore almost a quarter of those questioned expect to see a recovery in business travel activity at the start of next year. Only 10% of companies expressed concern that there would not be a recovery in business travel.

“The trend that has been revealed by the latest snap poll by the VDR is giving the industry reasons for cautious optimism. This is good news for ITB Berlin”, comments Messe Berlin director of the competence centre travel & logistics, Martin Buck.

“Stringent travel guidelines, which have met with complete acceptance within the companies, and are being consistently applied, not only offer tangible benefits for travel management but also ensure high levels of reliability and professionalism in the dealings between companies’ customers and service providers.”

The economic situation continues to have a significant impact on business travel activities of German companies. However, following a sharp downturn a year ago there seems to have been something of a recovery.

Nevertheless the situation is having a noticeable effect on cost-saving, and almost 60% of VDR member companies continue to monitor travel costs and are seeking cheaper travel options.

Companies are making more use of web, video and telephone conferencing as a means of reducing their travel costs. One third of the VDR member companies that were questioned now apply such technology as a substitute for business travel.

A further 20% are following this trend for other reasons, such as improving internal communication.

The snap poll was conducted among the 512 members of the VDR one month prior to ITB. A total of 126 companies took part.