Airline pricing and increasing costs in general are travel buyers’ top concerns currently, according to a poll from Business Travel Show Europe.
The need to cut costs was the next most significant challenge and shared third place with one of the year’s most significant developments, NDC.
Business travel buyers' biggest challenges
1. Airline pricing (30%)
2. Increasing costs (29%)
3. Cost cutting (21%)
4. Distribution/NDC (21%)
5. Budget (16%)
6. Appointing new TMC (16%)
7. Hotel pricing (14%)
8. Pressure to be more sustainable (10%)
9. Duty of care (10%)
10. Enforcing compliance (9%)
*Buyers could select three items from a choice of 25
The poll of nearly 100 European travel buyers, procurement and HR managers, and PAs and EAs saw respondents select three items from a choice of 25 of today’s most pertinent challenges in travel management.
Meanwhile, when asked what is most likely to reduce their organisation’s business travel activity, more than a third said rising costs (34 per cent), a quarter said pressure to reduce costs (26 per cent) and 15 per cent said sustainability targets.
BTN Group executive vice president Louis Magliaro: “Rising costs aren’t exclusive to the business travel industry – or to Europe. Costs are increasing globally due to supply chain issues, rising inflation, the war in Ukraine and Brexit, among others reasons,” said BTN Group executive vice president, Louis Magliaro.
“The key is making travel budgets work harder and smarter. And there is no better place to do that than at Business Travel Show Europe. We will have 200 suppliers on the floor this month from all areas of the business, and amazing content designed to help buyers refine their policies in line with today’s pressures and challenges.”
Business Travel Show Europe returns to ExCeL London from 28-29 June 2023 and takes place alongside the TravelTech Show and The Meetings Show.