Travel analysts predict only short recession
Analysts predicted the US slowdown will not last long, according to travel managers and supplier participants at a recent forum called a “Wall Street Look at the Business of Business Travel.â€
Ken McGill, Executive Vice President & Managing Director, Travel & Tourism, for the economic analysis firm Global Insight, said that the US is currently in a recession.
He added it was “mild,†and that the negative growth will last only two consecutive quarters, which is generally described as the minimum time frame of a recession.
“The global economy is both robust and broadly distributed,†and the interplay between growing and slowing economies around the world will help the US economy recover quickly, he added.
He also predicted that both increases in fuel prices and decreases in the value of the dollar would moderate in the medium term, contributing to recovery. “The global economy is a good-news story: slowing growth, then getting back on track.â€
National Business Travel Association (NBTA) President & CEO, Kevin Maguire, opened the Forum. He said:
“I see the glass as half full, not half empty.â€
He said that travel managers are doing their jobs by continuing to contain their companies’ travel costs, but that he “has not seen companies taking drastic measures to cut travel.â€
He said expectations based on NBTA research showed that “the growth of business travel will be slower, but we’ll continue to see growth.â€
The forum was sponsored by the NBTA Business Travel Financial Forum.
Report by David Wilkening
Abercrombie & Kent hails $500 million funding boost
British Airways passengers endure 11-hour 'flight to nowhere'
CLIA: Anti-cruise demos could cause itinerary changes in Europe
Gatwick braces for strike
Co-pilot faints, easyJet flight issues ‘red alert’