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Business travel transactions are up
Business travel transactions for UK travel management companies are on the up, but still not at 2008 levels.
According to the latest quarterly survey by the Guild of Travel Management Companies (GTMC), overall business travel transactions across the spectrum increased by 12% over 2009, they are still lagging behind 2008.
The survey, covering the three months to June 2010, showed that air travel, hotel bookings, rail travel, and car rental are all ahead of the same period in 2009.
Air travel in particular fared better than expected in light of the ash crisis and the industrial action against British Airways, showing a healthy 13% growth.
The ash crisis also contributed to the significantly better than expected performance of the car rental market, a traditional poor performer of recent years.
GTMC Survey results showed a healthy 11% increase over the previous year.
Rail travel, the star performer of recent years, saw bookings by GTMC members up by 11%.
But the GTMC said indications are that the growth in transactions has not been matched by a growth in revenues, with a general move out of first class and a noticeable reduction in public sector spend.
Hotel bookings are also in recovery mode, with an increase of 7% year on year.
The impact of ash clouds and industrial action led to a 24% rise in transactions for ancillary services.
GTMC chief executive Anne Godfrey said: “The survey of transactions by GTMC members shows clearly that the recovery, no matter how fragile, is underway for UK Plc.
“The results are particularly encouraging when you factor in the truly exceptional items of the ash crisis and industrial action. The acid test of course will be in the performance of the sector in the second half of the year.”
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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