ABACUS today unveiled the results of a new study detailing trends in the business travel scene, namely: tighter corporate travel policies, growing preference for LCCs, polarised CBT adoption rates, increasing use of mobile devices for travel and rising concern of secondary expenses.
Abacus’ Five Major Trends in Corporate Travel Practices in Asia Pacific surveyed a representative cross-section of corporate travel organisations across the region on their business practices.
According to the study, companies are clamping down on travel spend with 97 per cent of companies increasing corporate travel policy enforcement and 73 per cent reducing the number of business trips. Cost cutting is also achieved through policies that force travellers to stay in lower star-level lodging (47 per cent) or fly economy rather than business class (60 per cent).
In a further step, companies are opting to fly their travellers on LCCs (TTG Asia e-Daily, October 1, 2013). Some 77 per cent of companies polled said the lowest fare rates were the biggest draw in using LCCs, followed by flight times (40 per cent) and data capture (40 per cent).
While corporate booking tools have been widely implemented in companies at 73 per cent, adoption rates show users were divided into two distinct groups – those who self-book and those who delegate travel management.
Abacus International CEO, Robert Bailey, commented: “(Agencies) may in some cases want to reposition corporate booking tools as serving more the personal assistants (who handle travel arrangements), with mobile apps appealing to the travellers. Adoption is never uniform.”
Furthermore, despite 83 per cent of TMCs agreeing that smartphones would have a moderate to significant impact on their business, only 33 per cent have a mobile web or native application for mobile devices.
Lastly, secondary expenses that account for between 10 and 14 per cent of trip expenses on average in the Asia-Pacific are a growing concern for companies. Presently 30 per cent of travel agencies now provide electronic expense management systems to corporate clients to capture payments.
