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Companies still travelling – just differently
A marked downturn in fourth-quarter flight bookings has been reported by the body representing UK business travel agencies.
The Guild of Travel Management Companies reported an eight per cent increase in 2008 transactions, but air and car hire bookings slumped in the fourth quarter – down six per cent and 21% respectively year-on-year – while rail bookings rose by 18%.
Miscellaneous transactions, for business trip components such as taxis and airport parking, were 26% higher against the same period a year earlier, and hotel bookings were four per cent up.
For 2008 as a whole, the only sector to show a significant year-on-year decline was car rental, with transactions down seven per cent to 343,434.
Flight bookings – at more than 6.9 million – showed a slip of just 3,323.
Guild members’ hotel bookings, at almost 3.7 million, and rail bookings, which topped 3.7 million, were both 18% higher than in 2007.
The 700,000-plus “other” transactions represented a one per cent improvement for the year.
The guild’s 31 members completed nearly 15.4 million travel transactions last year, up from nearly 14.3 million in 2007.
Chief executive Philip Carlisle said: “When we published our third-quarter transaction totals late last year, we warned that the fourth-quarter figures would paint a very different picture.
“Given the subsequent speed and scale of the downturn, the fact that total transactions ended the year eight per cent higher is frankly remarkable.
“As the recession continues, there is no doubt that there is worse to come in 2009. However, when measured against the fall in flight bookings, the sharp upturn in rail travel demonstrates that companies are still travelling, but travelling differently.
“Similarly the continued rise in hotel bookings – albeit at a much slower rate – suggests that business travellers are combining trips, covering two or more destinations at a time.”
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