Business travel on the increase

Over 80% of the respondents expect their company's travel frequency to increase, with almost half expecting the increase to be big. Similarly, company travel budgets have increased in the last year for over three quarters of respondents and as many expect this trend to continue in the next 12 months.

Class of travel is mixed, with over a third of respondents saying the main class of travel is business, for just over a quarter it is economy (10% premium economy) and a further quarter are booking a mixture of business and economy. Almost a third of bookers are expecting to see more business-class travel in the next 12 months.

The business-class ethos carries through to accommodation, with the majority of corporate travellers staying in four- and five-star hotels.

'The Business Travel Show Dubai 2008 pre-show survey points to increased demand for business-class products, despite the global economic downturn. This proves that corporations continue to see the value of conducting business on a face-to-face basis, and also shows that they are willing to pay that little extra to see their executives travel in style, enabling them to arrive at their destination well rested and ready for business,'

said Sally Maltby, Event Director for show organisers Centaur Exhibitions.

Conferences and exhibitions are the most common reasons for a business trip and set to increase in the next year. This is followed by visits to existing clients, other offices of their company and partners & suppliers. Visits to prospective clients are likely to increase the most in the next year followed by incentive/reward trips, taking the place of some of the visits to other offices, which are expected to decline.

'It is probably no great surprise to anyone that is familiar with the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and sees the number of aircraft orders that continue to hit the press and set new records, that travel is only set to go one way. In fact, passenger demand in the Middle East outgrew all other regions in the first half of 2007 and was triple the world average, according to statistics from the International Air Transport Association (IATA),' said Jane Wilson, Director of Travel & Tourism Research at YouGovSiraj.

While the figures all point to increased business travel in the years ahead, the survey does not deliver all good news. Sustainability and environmental concerns appear to be unimportant to the region's travel bookers, pointing to a need for more education in this important field.

Less than one in five survey respondents said they would go out of their way to use suppliers that minimise employee carbon footprints whenever possible, regardless of cost. Two thirds did not consider this issue or were unaware.

Around a third claim their company sometimes opts to pay the extra fee to cover the carbon offset on flights. The future is not looking much greener with just under a fifth saying they thought their company might opt to do this in the next year.

When asked if they plan trips according to a carbon calculator, less than a third were willing to consider it. However, 12% claim to have ever applied the concept of 'personal carbon trading' when booking business travel.

'The Green statistics prove that more needs to be done to educate companies on the environmental cost of their regular business travel. This will certainly be one area of focus for us at The Business Travel Show Dubai, where we aim to lead by example,' Maltby explained.

The Business Travel Show Dubai has already signed an agreement to offset its carbon emissions with Carbon Capital Markets, a leading carbon trader and fund manager. This is the second year that the Dubai travel show and Carbon Capital Markets have worked together to offset the show's carbon footprint.

Emissions to be offset will include those generated by the venue building, courtesy diesel buses used to transport delegates to and from the desert car parking area, the speaker/moderators' personal travel to and from the show and event staff. Visitors and exhibitors at the show will also be encouraged to offset their own travel.

The Business Travel Show Dubai survey was conducted via an online questionnaire sent out to all parties expressing an interest in and attending the show in 2008. The survey was designed and managed by YouGovSiraj, the show's research partner, to protect respondent confidentiality. The survey was completed by over 100 business travel bookers that have some level of responsibility for booking for their company, travellers booking for themselves and business travel agents, almost half of whom book more than 50 trips per year. The majority are resident in the UAE.

Business Travel Show Dubai is part of the global Business Travel Shows portfolio, which also includes exhibitions in the UK and Germany. The Business Travel Shows are the only events in the industry that are specifically aimed at buyers and bookers of business travel.

The Business Travel Show Dubai is a joint venture between Centaur Media Plc and Dnata World of Events and takes place at the Madinat Jumeriah Arena on October 20-21, 2008. Visitors can register online to attend for free, by visiting www.businesstravelshow.ae and clicking on 'registration'.