A study has highlighted some new facts regarding business travel trends in the US.
While previous figures had indicated that following the slump in the financial markets, spending on business travel in the US had increased in 2010 and 2011, recent trends show that business travel spending is slowing down, and analysts feel that this could be due to apprehensions about the economy and its future prospects.
The Global Business Travel Association compiled the report, and the study was sponsored by Visa Inc (NYSE: V). Michael W McCormick, executive director of the group, said, ‘Corporations are in a wait-and-see mode and holding back on investment decisions that would help boost the economy.’
The study said that US businesses would spend a total of $257bn on travel in 2012, a 2.6 percent increase over the previous year. However, when factoring in the increase in spending, which has gone from 5.1 percent in 2010, to 7.2 percent in 2011, the true picture that emerges shows that funding will drop for business travel. The report also said that 438 million business trips would be undertaken in the US this year, a drop of 1.6 percent from the 445 million trips in 2011.
On a broader theme, the survey said that women become more stressed than men while travelling. While women were concerned about the safety of their luggage and the perils of eating food from untried locations, men were concerned about having to spend long haul journeys in economy seats.
The authors of the report said that the findings could be used to help businesses make changes in the way they plan travel for their executives.
