Growing online threat to business travel agents

Monday, 26 Feb, 2004 0

A survey out today shows the growing threat of the internet to traditional business travel agents. While travel management companies continue to account more than half of all business travel arrangements, online bookings are on the increase. The Company Barclaycard annual Travel in Business survey reveals a 49% rise in overall business travel bookings via the internet since 2000 when only 17% of business travellers booked travel online. Booking flights and trains online has increased by 8% in the last 12 months, according to Company Barclaycard. The research found that 66% of business travellers had booked flights online and 45% booked rail via the internet. Convenience was highlighted by 83% of business travellers as the main advantage of booking online, while 36% cited cost savings and 29% time saving. Only 2% were forced to use the internet as company policy. Despite increased popularity of online booking, the poll of 2,500 corporate card holders found that 54% of companies continue to use business travel agents. Seventy eight per cent of respondents identified time saving as a key selling point of business travel agents, followed by specialist knowledge (45%), offering better deals (40%) and providing out of hours assistance (16%) as services clients most appreciated. Other findings showed three sectors business travel agents should be targeting – only 34% in the charity sector, 36% in agriculture and 44% of retail use travel management companies. Not unsurprisingly, the survey identified younger business travellers as the ones most likely to make bookings online and use ticketless travel schemes. Company Barclaycard head of marketing Simon Chick said that more than 90% of those asked were satisfied with the service provided by business travel agents. But he added: “With the internet only a click away, business travel agents need to focus on promoting the added value that they alone can bring to customers. Business travel agents should communicate the clear advantages of having a travel expert rather than a computer serving customers’ travel needs.” Report by Phil Davies

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