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Bookings through TMCs are rising, says survey
A survey by Barclaycard Business has found 41% of business travel was booked through travel management companies in 2005/6, compared with 32% the previous year.
Online bookings fell from 56% to 51%, according to the survey of 2,500 CEOs, company directors, managers and executives.
Of the TMC bookings, 31% of travellers use an external agent while 10% use an internal one.
When it comes to online bookings, 37% of respondents said they self booked online while another 14% use an intranet facility.
The remaining 2% of travellers surveyed book the majority of their trips direct on the day of travel.
But according to a separate Barclaycard survey of future trends, online bookings are forecast to grow to 70% by 2015.
It also predicted that the number of professionals who are required under company policy to book business travel online will grow from 28% in 2004 to around 50%.
It believes this figure will reach a ceiling after 10 years because a proportion of needs will continue to be met by TMCs.
Tim Carlier of Barclaycard Business said: “The popularity of the internet is undeniable, however it will never replace the traditional TMC as it cannot match the level of service.
“Today’s professionals are time poor and need to tailor business trips to meet their individual needs. Thanks to the advances in business travel booking, they can choose whether to deal-seek online or utilise the expertise of the TMC whilst also being able to choose from a variety of ticket types.”
Business travel forecasting to 2015 was carried out by the Future Foundation, using its in-house data and Barclaycard Business travel survey date dating back 10 years to when the survey began.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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