The year started badly for anybody who had to get around, with snow and cold causing havoc and tens of thousands of cancelled flights. This naturally slowed some business travel activity but despite this, a recent report suggests that spending on business travel for the year to 2014 should rise. This is down to increased confidence in the business community and more jobs being created.
The report commissioned by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), predicts that there is more than 0.5% more growth to be seen than had previously been forecast. We should now see 7.1 percent growth in 2014 or $293.3 billion, compared to a previous prediction of 6.6 percent.
Increased international activity
The GBTA see the area of outbound international travel to be a particularly strong space for 2014 - This should rise at 12.9 percent, accounting for $37.2 billion.
In a statement, Michael McCormick, GBTA executive director and COO, said that businesses are increasingly confident and eager to get their employees back on the road. “Business travel growth is a leading indicator of job growth," he said, "and we’ve seen this play out in previous quarters as the private sector has finally regained all of the jobs lost during the recession. Today’s forecast suggests that this measured but steady improvement should continue.”
“According to the BTI forecast, business travel in the U.S. will see strong gains in 2014, fueled by outbound international business travel,” said Tad Fordyce, SVP, Global Commercial Solutions for Visa. “As more employees travel globally, organizations that use electronic payments have a convenient and secure way to pay for business travel expenses no matter where they travel in the world.”
Possible storm clouds
With all the positive outlooks there was a word of potential warning about the direction events in the Ukraine could be taking. While business activity is as yet unaffected and jet fuel prices remain unchanged. A protracted economic conflict with Russia could negatively affect European growth prospects, this would have a clear effect on US economic activity and hence business travel
“The Eurozone is exposed to the Crimean crisis and there is a chance that an ongoing issue could create a slowdown in Europe, negatively impacting international outbound travel from the U.S.,” said McCormick. “We’re poised to finally start seeing stronger business travel spending in the Eurozone,
We hope that this short update is useful; ground transportation is one further aspect that we can help with - we can help you put together a great transport plan. Griffin Transportation is a Vancouver, BC, based company that aims to provide: “The Ultimate in Safety, Service and Satisfaction”. With Griffin you can rest assured that our expert staff can provide you with the very best possible service, tailored to your green needs not just locally but, through our carefully selected affiliates, worldwide.
