Exhaustive new survey finds business travel bouncing back

Business and convention travel is finally showing real signs of recovery, though technology and changing practices are causing some consumer changes, says a new and extensive study.

Said Dr. Suzanne Cook, senior vice president of research for the Travel Industry Association of America:

“Business travel has been one of the most seriously affected by the events of recent years and the slowest to recover. We believe that US business travel is finally in recovery and expect reasonably healthy growth over the next several years.

Other studies have said that business travel was recovering, but the 2004 Business Travelers Study appeared to be the most extensive and authoritative on the subject.

Results of the study were released at a press conference in Washington, DC.

National Business Travel Association Executive Director Bill Connors said the study helped “quantify the importance of business travel to the travel industry.”

The report, which also was backed by the Institute of Business Travel Management and the Travel Industry Association of America, found that nearly one third of all travel dollars are spent on business travel.

The survey showed that last year, 38.3 million Americans generated 210.5 million domestic business trips, spending $153.2 billion.

Business travel trips were up 3.8% in the first six months of this year.

The survey also measured what business travelers wanted. It showed that in-room internet access was used by 45% and hotel fitness centers by 43% of business travelers, which represented the most popular amenities.

The survey also looked at attitudes towards travel, finding that nearly 71% of air travelers believed that teleconferencing, web casting or video conferencing was somewhat or much more efficient than travel itself.

On the other hand, only 37% of business air travelers thought that using such technology is more effective for good business than face-to-face meetings.

Some other key findings:

• A small group of business travelers make the most trips. Frequent business travelers who take 10 or more trips a year make up 17% of all business travelers but comprise two-third of all trips.

• A majority of travelers, or 57%, are men.

• Frequent traveler programs are popular with nearly half of respondents, or 47%, saying they participate in one or more frequent flyer program. Another third participated in frequent hotel guest programs.

• Increasingly, distance is playing a role in deciding whether to fly. Over 60% surveyed said they are more likely to drive than fly on trips of 300 miles or less.

• Evidence the travel recovery by air is for real: one-quarter or 24% of respondents indicated that in the past year they took more business trips by air than the previous year.

• But that does not mean travel conditions have improved. Nearly half of those surveyed felt that wait times in security lines have worsened, more than one-third thought flight delays were up and one in five believed airline ground service has deteriorated.

Report by David Wilkening